


The Devil's Fruit

by z0mbieshake



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Asphyxiation, Cruelty, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Gang Rape, Heavy BDSM, M/M, Mind Rape, Origin Story, Psychological Torture, Sensory Deprivation, Sex Magic, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Slavery, Torture, felix getting wrecked, torture porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-15 03:32:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4591386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/z0mbieshake/pseuds/z0mbieshake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felix makes a deal with the Shadow, swearing to become his plaything in exchange for Rufio's life. In the years to come, Felix learns to regret his awful decision as his very being is stripped away.</p><p>Trigger-heavy story, dark, sadistic, and edging into torture porn. Please read with caution!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Devil's Fruit

**Author's Note:**

> So, do you remember [Sporklift](http://archiveofourown.org/users/sporklift/pseuds/sporklift) had an amazing [Shadowverse](http://archiveofourown.org/series/138774) with tasteful sex and psychological drama? Well, this has none of that and is essentially the B-rated, Torture Porn version. Huge thanks to Sporklift for proofreading this and putting up with my explicit content warnings!
> 
> And that being said, this story is pretty much straight-on rape and torture. Very trigger heavy, please read with caution!

"Don't come any closer!" Felix shouted, revealing the porcelain shell in his hands with a flame flickering under the holes on the cover. Cedar wafted from the shell, filling the room with an sweet, earthy scent which calmed Felix's nerves and stiffened the Shadow's movements.

 _"Amusing. You invite me into your home and then you threaten to entrap me?"_ A breeze whipped around Felix, the air suddenly too cold, _"Is that any way to treat a guest?"_ His laughter was rich and ominous like broken church bells.

He couldn't lose control; he had to stay calm. Felix took a deep breath, shutting his eyes and talking with a firm voice, "I want to make a deal with you."

The Shadow's laughter cracked through the air, his body mimicking storm clouds as it twisted through in front of Felix's face, _"Such audacity to demand a deal from me. You've heard what they've said about me, no? What's stopping me from tearing off your shadow right now and leaving you for dead?"_

"You're not going to," For the first time since he summoned the Shadow to his window, he could just barely make out the outline of a human-shaped head tilting at his words, "Or else you would have already."

 _"Go on,"_ The Shadow murmured into his ears, closing in on him till it could feel the faintest breath coming from Felix's nose, _"Why do you think I haven't killed you yet?"_

The creature was toying with him. Felix had read the legends and heard all the tales of a demonic spirit that _lured boys away in their dreams_ to torment and _devour_ when they could no longer sate his boredom. This tiny bit of knowledge was all Felix had in his arsenal and he planned to make full use of it.

"Because you're bored," Felix said, eyes unwavering despite the horror chilling him from the inside, "And I'm the most interesting thing you've seen in a while."

The laughter was back but darker, _venomous_ , and accompanied by slow clapping. Felix didn't dare move while the creature drifted around the room, eventually settling at the window where a beam of light from the moon outlined his distinctly human form, _"Name your terms."_

He succeeded. Felix took a sigh of relief but kept his hands tight on the porcelain ornament, "My friend is dying of consumption. I want you to save him."

 _"Curing illness is beyond my powers,"_ The Shadow hummed at the sight of Felix's disappointment, _"But I suppose there is something I can do,"_ In a sharp breeze, the Shadow was suddenly twisting around Felix like a cloud of smoke, violating every part of him at once. Felix whined in fear, stumbling backwards until he slipped on the rug and fell against the wall. Chuckling darkly, the Shadow backed off and admired the look of fear in the boy's eyes, _"I can stop the clock. He stops aging, stops growing, and whatever ails him will stop as well. Will that suffice?"_

It was everything Felix wanted. He nodded, "Name your price."

The Shadow lunged at him once more but Felix held the porcelain container between them, forcing the creature back, _"I bring you back to my island. You are my toy and you will be mine until the day I bore of you."_

"But what about-"

 _"Ah, ah, no negotiations,"_ A sharp, cool finger pressed over Felix's lips, _"It's his life or your freedom. Your choice."_

The hesitation was only for a second. There was only one choice for Felix right from the start. _Freedom was pointless if he couldn't share it with Rufio,_ "I accept your terms."

_"I knew you would."_

What felt like a breeze pinned Felix to the wall, the flame put out inside Felix's only line of defense. A second breeze knocked the ornament out of his hands, shattering it on the wooden floor and swept away the smell of cedar. No longer an ethereal form, the Shadow lifted Felix into his arms and stared into his eyes with the monochrome face of an unknown boy with thick dreadlocks, "I'm going to enjoy you very much, Felix."

A third breeze came and Felix passed out.

 

"Time to wake up, _pet_."

Awoken by a sharp howl in the distance, Felix's eyes snapped open, shocked by the horrific colours surrounding him, "Wh-wh…" He stuttered, words slurring from confusion and exhaustion. He leapt from his spot as a second shadow whipped past him. He swore he could feel _fingers_ caressing his cheek as it flew past, "What is this?"

"Dark Hollow," The Shadow announced, still in his physical form so Felix could distinguish him from the other shadows gathering around them, "I want you to know your place here," His words were _too dark_ and Felix felt the slightest regret in the pit of his stomach, "So there's going to be strict disciplining."

Fear robbed Felix with words leaving him with nothing but a trembling form.

The Shadow circled him, closing in with each step, "It gets so boring here for my _friends_. Perhaps you'd like to entertain them for a while?"

 _Those featureless eyes,_ despite being filled with nothing but white light, leered at Felix with nothing but _perversion._ Felix could feel every breath, the heat in Dark Hollow rising with the _ache_ of each Shadow, "No…no, no, no, please no," Felix gasped out, feeling hands slithering around under his clothes, over his face, into his mouth.

"And that's the first rule," The Shadow was at his toes, lips crushed together in a bruising kiss, "You never say no to me."

Hands tore at Felix's clothes, groped at him violently as they grappled him backwards, "Please, _please,_ I'm begg- _Don't do this!_ " His voice broke as he screamed which did nothing but arouse the creature even more. Shadows hiding in the crevices gravitated towards the boy, salivating for a taste of pleasure the Shadow hadn't given them in centuries.

Shoved into the dirt, stripped, groped, bitten, scratched, humiliated, _violated_ in every sense, Felix screamed till his throat was raw.

 

Time was an illusion in the Dark Hollow. The sky's garish shade of red had not changed since the moment Felix awoke. Bruises shaped like handprints littered Felix's body. He couldn't stop himself from shaking, tremors riding up his loins with every passing Shadow. When the last Shadow lifted from his body like fog lifting with a breeze, Felix curled up instinctively, trying his best to shut out the hell around him. They never let him sleep. Every time Felix passed out, a wave of magic would reinvigorate his body with energy, waking him just to tear him apart all over again.

 _"Do you know your place?"_ Felix opened his eyes to see an inky, translucent boot in front of him, _"Tell me what you are."_

 _A slave. A toy._ Demeaning, little epithets that Felix would've cursed with every fibre of his being had the situation been different. With an aching body and a shattered pride, Felix latched onto the Shadow's leg and whispered, "I am your pet."

Felix groaned as a torrent of magic engulfed him, lighting up and chilling his skin at the same time. He doubled over, feeling a slimy tongue slither over the shell of his ear, _"Good boy,"_ Swallowed by a plume of smoke, the Shadow whisked Felix out from the hellish Dark Hollow.

 

_"Felix! Where are you?" Rufio shouted, leading the search party through the forest, "Felix!"_

"I'm here," Felix whispered, watching his beloved friend through a large shard of glass acting as a makeshift looking glass. He touched the cool surface of the mirror, swearing that he felt just the slightest bit of heat as the image of Rufio shifted under his fingers.

The air in the cave cooled dramatically whenever the Shadow appeared. Felix wrapped himself with a woolen blanket, leaving the looking glass and approaching the _bed_ where the Shadow expected him.

"Why are you wearing that?" The Shadow's deep, foreboding voice asked. His fingers slipped under the blanket, dancing over the soft skin on Felix's shoulders before pulling the blanket off and letting it drift onto the floor leaving Felix in nothing but a pair of lavender trousers.

Felix hated being without cover when the Shadow was around. His body was already fully claimed by the beast, he didn't need any more reminder, "It's cold in here," The Shadow's ivory hands did nothing to warm him; on the contrary, Felix only felt himself get colder as the Shadow caressed his body.

"Then let me warm you," The creature purred, lifting Felix around the waist and carrying him back to the bed. He laid the lanky boy across the sheets, climbing onto his body and proceeding to taste every inch of it.

Each lick, nip, and bite felt like an electric shock. Felix had to fist his hands into the sheets to prevent himself from fighting. _It'd only make it worse._ He groaned when the Shadow suckled on the soft skin between his ribs. He peppered Felix's body all over with marks, ignoring the boy's sobs and whines. As long as no voluntary rejection came, the Shadow was free to do as he pleased.

When he felt the Shadow crawl past his waistline, merely shutting his eyes and gripping into the sheets was no longer enough. Felix snapped his head to the side, staring into the looking glass and imagining that he was right there with him. He kept his mouth firmly shut. The last time he whispered Rufio's name in bed, he spent _three nights_ in the Dark Hollow.

_"Where could he have gone?" Rufio sobbed, collapsing on the steps of Felix's home._

Felix's hands knotted themselves in the Shadow's hair, pulling at black dreadlocks as he felt a wispy tongue twist lap every inch of skin at Felix's groin.

_A girl approached Rufio; it was Felix's younger sister Farah, "We checked his room. Nothing was missing."_

_"Someone must've taken him then! It's the only explanation," Rufio shouted, "God, Felix, please be okay."_

A small smile appeared on Felix's face even as the Shadow nipped at the sensitive flesh of his inner thighs. The small punctures he left behind created trails of blood which the Shadow hungrily devoured.

 _"We'll find him. Don't worry," Farah said, patting his cheek affectionately, "We'll find him_ together."

Felix's heartbeat stuttered for a moment, brows creasing in slight confusion at his sister's oddly affectionate tone. His legs tensed slightly as the Shadow parted them, pressing kisses to the base of his cock and licking at his puckered opening. He shut his eyes briefly when the creature inserted a finger inside of him, twisting it around mercilessly before inserting a second finger. The harsh sting made his eyes water but Felix soon grew accustomed to it, opening his eyes once more to stare into the looking glass.

_Rufio embraced Farah, one hand on the small of her back and the other combing through her golden hair. He sighed happily, all of the distress that came with Felix's disappearance gone for just a moment as he held her in his arms_

"No…" Felix whimpered, unable to stop himself from shuffling away from the Shadow, his fingers sliding out, " _Rufio,_ please," He stumbled off the bed, reaching out to the looking glass. _I gave up everything for you._

 _The blonde sighed dreamily, hands gliding all over Rufio's face once more when they parted their embrace. Rufio returned the gesture, fingers sweeping her hair back so he could examine her soft, freckled features. In both of their eyes was_ longing _._

"No, no, no, no," Felix murmured, one hand flat on the mirror as he hit the glass with his fist.

_Eyes sliding closed, breath stilled, without Felix acting as a wall between them, their lips finally met._

_No, no, no, no, no…_ Felix fell to his knees, beating at the glass with his fist.

"Have you forgotten our second rule already?" The Shadow's voice barely registered behind him. When Felix failed to respond, the Shadow took Felix by the hair and dragged him backwards, wrenching his head back at a painful angle so he could look him in the eye, " _Never_ back away from me!" His voice dropped to a demonic tone, snarling as he dragged Felix backwards by his hair. He hurled the boy onto the bed, enraged when Felix _scrambled away_ , utterly terrified by the _demon_ that enslaved him, " _What did I just say?_ " His body flickered into shadows before completely dissolving into a fine dark smoke, surrounding Felix and covering every inch of him.

Felix cried out in fear, tossed and tortured in this unrelenting torrent of magic. He could feel something wrench his mouth open, heat and salt forced into his mouth and nearly down his throat. A second force pulled his legs apart, testing Felix's flexibility as it forced his knees nearly to his chest. Magic stirred around his loins, heat and ecstasy building up in his already dripping but restrained cock. Felix writhed on the bed, hips lurching forward as the Shadow shoved himself deep inside, his ethereal form mimicking penetration and fucking Felix senseless.

Screams faded into moans, begging, _sobs_ , and eventually nothing but breathy nonsensical words. He writhed on the bed weakly, hips thrusting into nothing while his body was utterly devoured by the Shadow's ethereal presence. He was nearing another orgasm, only possible by the Shadow's perverse magic cutting his refractory time. Body shuddering as he came, Felix flopped onto the bed in exhaustion. He sighed in relief as the smog lifted, the Shadow no longer cursing his body.

Felix felt a weight on the bed, realizing the Shadow had materialized into his physical form, "Wasn't that fun?" He cooed, rolling Felix onto his back so he could cradle him in his arms. He snickered when Felix's head lolled backwards, "Makes you forget all about Rufio, doesn't it?"

Eyes snapping open, he hadn't realized he had forgotten all about, mind utterly destroyed by the Shadow's brutal fucking. He bit down on his lip, fighting the urge to reject the Shadow out of spite, "Don't talk about him."

"I don't take orders from you," The Shadow whispered, sliding a finger across Felix's pink lips, "Forget about him. You belong to me now," He closed in on Felix, claiming his lips in a heated, violent kiss.

The pain, the humiliation, Felix almost found it _bearable_ when compared to the awful truth: _He sold his soul for nothing._

_"It's not right. We have to find Felix," Rufio whispered, reluctantly tearing away from Farah._

_Farah took his hands, urging him to stay close, "I don't need a ceremony. I don't need flowers or a dress," She cut a strip of hair off of her horse, twisting it into a ring and handing it to Rufio, "This is all I'll ever want. And then we'll find Felix together."_

_It was the dead of night. Everyone in the search party was exhausted. Rufio gave into Farah's suggestions, walking back to their tent and spending the night with her._

Felix kept his eyes shut, forehead pressed against the mirror. He had no energy to keep himself up. His dignity was shattered by the Shadow and everything else by his own stupidity. _Rufio never loved him._ His foolish fantasy as a love martyr was nothing more than a balm to numb his pain. A single tear fell from his cheek before he could stop himself. _Boys don't cry_ but perhaps being a boy is what ruined his chances with Rufio.

A stone-cold tongue latched against his cheek, dragging upward and collecting the narrow stream of tears, "I don't like it when you cry. _It's ugly,_ " Felix held still as the Shadow nibbled at his face, lapping up every tear in his eyes, "My pet must always be beautiful," The Shadow said, sighing seductively into Felix's ear.

"I want some time alone," Felix said firmly.

The Shadow tilted his head curiously. For just a brief moment, Felix thought the Shadow would oblige till a hand grabbed him by the hair and dragged him away from the mirror, "Whatever do you need it for?" The Shadow growled, dragging a thrashing Felix across the floor, "Need more time to stare at your _beloved Rufio_? Imagine yourself in your sister's place, rubbing up against that firm body?" He threw Felix onto the bed, sitting on his stomach and pinning him down by his wrists, "His hot prick in your hands and not your sister's. Him _all over your body_ , touching you, memorizing you," The Shadow moaned into Felix's ear, grinding his hips downward and ignoring Felix's blatant struggles.

"Stop talking about him!" Felix shouted, striking the Shadow's back with his knee. In response, the Shadow struck him across the face, nearly dislocating his jaw with the sheer force. The Shadow released Felix, letting the boy curl up on his side and clutch his face, " _Damn you,_ " He whined, his cheek beginning to swell.

The Shadow remained on his side, staring down at Felix and scowling when he noticed tears in the boy's eyes once more. He grabbed at Felix's jaw, ignoring the pained scream when he pressed his fingers into his swollen face, "I said _no crying_."

"I can't stop it," Felix growled back, covering his pain with bravado. The tears were from the ache in his cheek, involuntarily formed from his pain.

"Then _find_ a way," The Shadow snarled, "And don't you dare talk to me that way ever again," He released Felix's jaw. He kept his eyes on him, trying to devour him with a look and finding resistance in the boy's own fierce glare.

The Shadow covered Felix's eyes, a shroud of magic covering the boy and forcing exhaustion upon his body. Felix's struggles weakened slowly, arms eventually collapsing to the side and limp.

 

_"Rufio?" Felix whispered, fingers weaved with the other boy's as they hid in the wardrobe, "My parents are going to kill me," He smiled pleasantly though, flexing his fingers and so happy with Rufio, "Let's hope Farah finds us before they do."_

_Rufio looked unsure, worried, but he nodded regardless. The smile on his face looked forced but Felix couldn't bear to bring it up, couldn't bear to lose this one intimate moment. Was he making Rufio uncomfortable?_

"No, that's not what happened," Felix said, staring at this memory, somehow inside the wardrobe and outside in a pitch black, misty cave, "Rufio didn't look like that. He wanted to be in there," Arms coiled around his chest, squeezing harshly and compressing his lungs, "You're making this up!"

The Shadow snickered cruelly, pressing kisses all along Felix's neck, "Am I? I don't twist memories. I simply replay them. It is your mind that paints them however you want it," Felix could feel his smile pressed up against his face, "Now that you know the truth of Rufio and Farah, your memories are a lot _clearer_ , aren't they?"

To his left, another memory began to play. Felix watched himself speaking to Rufio at the children's table, sharing biscuits and tossing them around. He remembered that day; it was Farah's birthday. _Why would Rufio be there?_ He was Felix's friend, not Farah's. Only one hand was tossing treats, eyes firmly on Felix while his other hand was _joined with Farah's under the table._

_Felix couldn't pretend that he hadn't seen it. Farah holding Rufio's hand. He figured it was a childhood crush, just his little sister acting like a girl. That didn't stop him from cajoling Rufio into a game with both their hands, somehow inventing a two-handed arm-wrestling game. He smiled when Rufio tore away from Farah, took enjoyment from his sister's disappointment._

"Stop it," Felix snapped.

"Why? Don't you love your Rufio so much that you'd sell your soul for him?" The Shadow said, nuzzling Felix's head.

Another memory began playing in his head. _Their first kiss_ , during the Winter Solstice festival, Felix brought Rufio to the roof of their building and kissed him. _The cool autumn breeze, soft lips resting still against his,_ too still _, a breath hitched, eyes fluttering shut trying to ignore the strained expression before him. If he pulled away from the kiss, he'd be forced to see Rufio's dejected, unsure look so Felix kept their lips together. Rufio's mouth quivered. He didn't return the kiss, didn't deepen it, simply giving Felix a gentle smile when he finally pulled away._

"Stop it!" Felix screamed, "That's not what happened!"

"Foolish, _stupid_ , idiotic boy," The Shadow growled into his ear, hands gliding over his body, "Rufio never loved you and you _knew_ that. You sold your soul over a delusion, hoping that Rufio would realize his feelings for you and come rushing to your rescue."

The memories wouldn't stop, all of them playing at once and Felix somehow catching all of them: His first kiss with Rufio, _an awkward, selfish mess;_ Rufio disappearing into his sister's quarters after their dinner; Felix swearing his _love_ to Rufio and Rufio swearing his _loyalty_ in return.

"Stop…" Felix whined, finding himself pressed facedown against a bed while the Shadow fucked him ruthlessly from behind. They had never left the room. The Shadow simply trapped Felix in his own mind and forced him to relive his memories, "Please," All of his memories suddenly froze, giving him just a second of reprieve before everything rewound and replayed. Felix screamed, overwhelmed by his new clarity, " _Stop it! Stop it!_ "

" _No_ ," The Shadow simply replied, hips slapping together harshly with every shove. With every teardrop Felix cried, the Shadow would fuck him harder, slamming their hips and jostling his entire form. The memories would replay themselves, engraving into Felix the _delusion_ of Rufio's love.

The Shadow kept going till Felix had no more tears to cry, no more voice to scream with, no more illusions to believe in. He laid Felix down on the bed, pulling out and admiring the string of bloody come following his cock, "Welcome to the island, my pet," He cooed, pressing a kiss to Felix's catatonic gaze.

 

There was no reason to keep dwelling on it. Three months later, Felix found it easy to ignore his heartache, muffling it with the intense, overwhelming ecstasy the Shadow readily bestowed upon him. In hindsight, he should've seen it coming. Rufio was too friendly to turn Felix down, submitting to gentle kisses and hand-holding but only in private, never in front of anyone. There were also those multiple times he'd see Rufio wandering around the his sister's quarters but Felix paid no attention to it. At the end of the day, Felix still _saved_ Rufio, halting his crippling sickness in exchange for his freedom. That still meant something.

Felix sat at the peak of the island, dubbing it _Neverland_ , since he would _never_ escape. He'd spend hours memorizing the landscape, every hill, every cliff, the swamp in the far east, _the odd skull-shaped island with glowing eyes,_ it was his only pasttime with the land restrictions the Shadow imposed on him. He was to never leave the proximity of his cave for unknown reasons.

"What's on your mind?" The dark voice asked, walking over to Felix and sitting on the cliff beside him.

It was rare that the Shadow was ever in such a good mood. Felix tried not to squander it, "Nothing."

"You look a little down," The Shadow said, sliding in closer and wrapping an arm around his waist, "Want to talk about Rufio? That usually cheers you up."

His name didn't even sting anymore. Felix could recount the countless hours he had spent running over his many memories of Rufio, how he'd never regret his choice no matter what the Shadow did to him, it was the only way Felix could've endured it all. _Without Rufio_ , Felix found himself without hope. He glanced over to the Shadow, eyes weary, "Did you always know Rufio didn't love me?"

"Yes, I did," The Shadow replied shamelessly, "I can see the dreams of every child in the multiverse. I saw Rufio's dreams. _You weren't in them_."

His deliberately cruel words were more painful than Felix anticipated. He winced outwardly, nearly doubling over. He wasn't sure if he was angrier at Rufio or _himself_ for being an idiot who never figured it out. There was nothing to look forward to in his life anymore. He was a _sex slave_ to a deranged demon and his final fate would most likely be getting ravaged to death by ungodly forces. His eyes peered over the cliff and his head began to spin. _If he wasn't so afraid of death…_

" _No_!" The Shadow barked suddenly, slapping Felix harshly, "If you try to take your life, I promise that I will use all of my magic to revive you…" He clasped onto Felix's neck, nearly crushing his windpipe as he slammed Felix into the stony floor, "Just so I can _torture you for an eternity!_ " Felix struggled for a breath, clawing at the Shadow's wrist, "Do you understand?"

Frantically nodding his head, Felix could feel his extremities going numb from the lack of oxygen. When the Shadow finally released him, Felix rolled onto his side and heaved into the stone, coughing and hacking violently. The Shadow paid him no mind, simply sitting back at the edge of the cliff letting his legs swing back and forth over the edge.

Felix wanted to run till his legs gave out, wanted to hide away in the darkest crevice on the island _away_ from the monster that lorded over him. The savage rules the _demon_ engraved into his body prevented him from moving, smarting his limbs till he thought they'd fall off. _Don't run or he'll hurt you so much more…_

The Shadow was utterly pleased as Felix crawled back over, sitting down beside him and letting his legs dangle alongside his own, "Good boy!" He cheered, pulled Felix in for a hug and nuzzling his cheek, "Who's my good boy?" He cooed, ruffling his hair affectionately. His eyes caught something at the distance, the light of Skull Island flickering for just a moment. It was rare for Felix to act so proper. He figured he should _reward_ the boy with a bit more freedom, "Let me show you something fun."

Lifting Felix into the air, the Shadow flew him over the newly-christened _Neverland_. With the Shadow's threat fresh in Felix's mind, he found himself unable to look down at the island far below him without feeling sick to his stomach. He gripped into the Shadow's tunic and tucked his head into the crook of his neck, no doubt the creature was ecstatic.

"My lovely, little pet," The Shadow crooned, floating gently into Skull Rock through the eye socket, "There's nothing to be afraid of. I'd never let you fall," He hummed lightly as he nuzzled Felix's cheek once more. He placed Felix on the ground gently, letting the boy steady himself and dust off his chemise before focusing on the centerpiece of the island: _A giant, glowing hourglass._

Felix was perplexed, certainly not expecting such a decoration on the island, "What's the hourglass for?" He noted that it was nearly out of sand. He refused to let himself think it represented the Shadow's lifespan.

"It's for our guest," The Shadow replied, skin rippling as he shifted back into his ethereal form, _"There's a reason why I don't let you leave the cave. I wouldn't want our guest to find you and try to take you as their own,"_ The Shadow floated towards the glass, caressing the near empty top half, _"This island requires… sacrifices to sustain its magic. It's the same magic that keeps you and your_ Rufio _youthful."_

Felix's eyes narrowed at his explanation, "So this guest is your sacrifice?"

The Shadow snickered, endeared by his submissiveness, _"Exactly. To sustain this island, I invented a system,"_ He closed in on Felix, chest pressed to Felix's back as he gesticulated in his face, _"This island is fueled by the childish belief, imagination. I scope out the best child in their dreams and lure them here,"_ The awful myths, the demon that stole children away to torment them, this was where they came from, _"They bind themselves to the island and live out happy, carefree lives while the island_ assimilates _with them. That's what the hourglass represents,"_ The Shadow chuckled darkling watching the last of the dust trickle down, _"How much time a child has before the island has absorbed all of their innocence and light. And once it's all gone, all that's left to do is dispose of that child and find another…"_

 _The island_ , that seemed to be the Shadow's excuse for his heinous crimes. Felix wouldn't let it fool him. The Shadow was _The Spirit of Neverland_. This was nothing more than a way to sustain himself.

"What about me?" Felix asked, gasping as the Shadow passed through his body to stare into his eyes, "Why aren't you taking my innocence?"

The Shadow charged forward suddenly, shuffling Felix backwards into the stone wall and pinning him with one hand on his throat and the other at his groin, groping him maliciously, _"Silly Felix, I've already taken your innocence,"_ He ripped off his chemise, finger dipping into the waistband of his pants and tearing them down, exposing the boy to the warm air of Skull Island.

Felix knew the Shadow would've taken him right there against the wall had the hourglass not _run out._ The last of the dust trickled in and a sharp ring startled both of them. The Shadow turned around, a smile stretched across his shadowy face, _"Be right back,"_ He lifted his hand, conjuring a looking glass to the side, _"So you can watch."_

With those last words, the Shadow disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving Felix flustered and naked. He lowered himself to the ground, watching both the dimming hourglass and the crystal clear images of the mirror. He could see a boy with a mess of long black hair running frantically in a forest. Most jarring of all was that the boy perfectly resembled the Shadow in his physical appearance minus the excess in earthy, human shades of colour.

The boy's hair snagged on a branch and _the_ _entire left side of his face turned to wood_. Felix gaped in horror, watching the miraculously living boy scream till his lungs gave out, his foot turning to wood as a root reached out and grabbed his ankle. Desperate to run with too much momentum, the boy lunged forward and his foot _snapped clean off_. He collapsed against a tree head-first, wooden skull smashing into the pieces but still somehow alive. Both his hands latched onto the base and immediately fused with it, veins of wood creeping up his arms. He had no where to go as the bark encroached upon his form, becoming one with the tree.

A hand stabbed into the boy's chest. The boy stopped screaming, stopped struggling, simply staring up at the monster that brought him to this place. The Shadow didn't even dignify him with words, simply chuckling cruelly before tearing out the boy's Shadow, another servant in the Dark Hollow. The boy's body fully assimilated with the trees, his face nearly indistinguishable from the bark.

Felix jumped when the hourglass began to hum, the golden sand draining from the glass like liquid before solidifying into a _skull_ at the base, a memento for the boy's foolishness at trusting a demon.

This was a nightmare that Felix would never awaken from. He collapsed into the floor again, covering his face and whimpering. He didn't even realize the Shadow had returned till he was kneeling in front of him and pulling Felix's hands from his face, _"I won't have my physical body till I find another victim. We'll have to settle with just this till then,"_ The Shadow cooed, pressing Felix into the wall as he spread his legs with magic.

 

With the truth of his isolation revealed, the Shadow granted Felix more freedom, allowing him to walk around the island as long as the Shadow was there to accompany him and their "guest" was not in the vicinity. It proved to be a double-edged sword for Felix. To finally stretch his legs and see something other than the distant Neverland or stony walls was refreshing. On the other hand, the landmarks of Neverland only gave the Shadow _more ideas for punishments_.

Felix thrashed and screamed as the Shadow _shoved his head into the water_ as he fucked him from behind. His hands were restrained in a neat square on his back, legs swallowed into the sand as the Shadow bent him over with a firm grip on his hair, controlling whether Felix would breathe or drown during this punishment.

He lifted Felix's head, relishing in the boy's wild, reddened eyes, his violent hacking as he fought for a breath, and that _desperate plea_ at the very end when he had caught his breath, " _Please, please_ , I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

Lips stretched and teeth bared in a sadistic smile on his new body, a lanky looking boy with neatly cut hair and a crooked nose, the Shadow ignored Felix's pleas and shoved his head back under the water, loving how the bubbles fleeing from Felix's orifices made such lovely patterns in the water. It _excited him_ and he found himself shoving so hard that he bruised Felix's hips. Just as the thrashing slowed down, without a second wasted of Felix's agony, the Shadow yanked his head back up, fingers tangling with the soaking locks.

" _I'm s-sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry…"_

"This is what you get, Felix," The Shadow said darkly, letting the boy take an extra breath before shoving him back into the water, "For _yawning_ in my presence."

The demon was always so uncharacteristically soft after a harsh punishment, letting Felix lay in his lap on the beach as he stroked his hair softly, brushing out the sand, "Am I boring? Is that why you yawned?"

Felix shook his head, breath still shaky and throat raw from screaming and ice cold water, "N-No. You're never boring."

The Shadow smiled again, all teeth, his face more menacing than it had ever been. He slid a hand into Felix's thoroughly soaked chemise, watching with utter excitement as he fondled with Felix's flaccid cock, "You're not hard."

What could Felix say to that? Of course he wasn't getting off on being drowned and fucked at the same time. He swallowed the saltiness of the ocean from his tongue, trying hard to forget his ordeal so he could confidently respond, "It's cold out," He flinched when the Shadow suddenly threw a hand forward, covering his head and instinctively whispering ' _I'm sorry'_ at the threatening gesture. When no pain came, Felix opened his eyes to see the Shadow glaring off in the distance.

Felix turned, eyeing the fleeing creatures far ahead, "Mermaids."

"Leeches," The Shadow corrected with a hiss, "They think they can reside in my home without an invitation."

"I didn't know there were other creatures here," Felix whispered curiously.

"There's plenty of life here. All leeches, really, migrating to my island when they find it uninhabited," The Shadow replied, "They all _flee_ as I approach."

The thoughts were running rapidly through Felix's mind. He thought he was all alone save the Shadow's puppet. If there were other beings on the island, _they could save him._ Felix swallowed harshly, careful to not let his excitement bleed through. He couldn't let himself have such hope, had to realize what the Shadow would do to him if he found out his treacherous thought, but _damn that creature, Felix needed to get out of here._

Submissive and soft for the rest of the night, Felix diverted all suspicion with lewd remarks and seductive touches, ending the night with one final round in a soft bed.

 

Felix tested his boundaries carefully. As long as he was well-behaved and willing during sex, the Shadow would grant Felix free time to wander the island alone. However, as soon as anything approached Felix, be it a mermaid or a _squirrel_ , the Shadow would be right there with him pressed up against Felix's back.

There was no way Felix could get away from the Shadow long enough to escape. He needed something to distract the Shadow but the creature never seemed interested in anything but _Felix._ He rolled over on the bed, peering over at the shattered looking glass in the corner. Despite being broken, the mirror still functioned properly, allowing Felix to spy on anyone through it. He hadn't bothered in months. The last thing he wanted to see was Rufio living out his life without him.

An arm suddenly coiled around his waist. The Shadow pressed up his chilly, unnatural skin against his back, "What's on your mind?"

Felix rolled around, pressing his cheek against the Shadow's chest and hugging his pale waist, "Thinking about Neverland."

The Shadow snickered at the name, stroking Felix's hair affectionately, "That's a cute name for the island. I like it," He took Felix by the chin, tilting his head up and meeting his eyes, "Why 'Never' land?"

"Because I _never_ want to leave," Felix cooed, lips turning up as he shifted forward and pecked the Shadow's lips, "I _never_ want to be without you."

Snickering darkly, the Shadow rolled Felix under him, worming between his legs before returning Felix's kiss. His fangs inadvertently punctured Felix's lips, drawing blood that he eagerly lapped up, "You beautiful boy," He hummed, nipping at Felix's neck playfully as his hands glided down his body, "The moment you summoned me at your window, I knew I had to have you. I knew you wouldn't _break_ no matter what I did to you," He chuckled again, nibbling on Felix's ear and tugging on the lobe with his teeth.

 _Do whatever you want, you monster. Just fuck me, get off, and leave me alone so I can be free of you_. Felix bit down his words, faking arousal with his face and voice.

"You've lasted much longer than _the other ones_ ," The Shadow said, chilling Felix to the core. The Shadow's eyes snapped open, curious with the shock reflected behind Felix's eyes, " _Pet_ , did you think you were the only slave I've taken home?"

Felix swallowed, couldn't let the implications rule his emotions, "I hoped I was."

Satisfied with his answer, the Shadow suckled a mark under Felix's left ear, " _How cute._ But no, I've taken other slaves who've made ill-advised deals with me. None of them could last more than a _few weeks,"_ He caressed Felix's face like he was the most precious creature in the world. He could tell how desperately Felix tried to maintain an apathetic expression, could see the _fear_ like storm clouds in his eyes, "You would have laughed if you had seen them. _Like headless chickens_ raving mad, or stone statues unresponsive to everything. _Boring_ ," He snarled the final word, finally startling Felix into shutting his eyes, "But not you. You're a keeper. I'll keep you in my grasp until the end of time itself."

"A-Anything you want," Felix murmured.

_The Shadow would keep him till he lost his mind. His only escape from this hell was insanity._

"That's my good boy," The Shadow cooed, pressing sharp kisses down Felix's torso and then _stopping suddenly,_ head snapping upwards as his light-filled eyes shot to the right.

Fearful at first, Felix cautiously lifted his head to examine the creature, "Is something wrong?"

The Shadow snickered, swinging his legs over the bed and off of Felix as he materialized clothes onto his body, "Looks like our guest has run out of time early. Poor fool. Must've overestimated himself," He switched into his ethereal form, _"Time to collect his Shadow. Stay out of trouble while I'm gone."_

With that abrupt exit, Felix was left all alone in the cave. He flopped backwards onto the bed, finding no solace in his hopeless situation.

_No. It's not hopeless._

_This was it._

Felix's eyes snapped open. This was exactly the situation he needed: The Shadow was thoroughly _distracted_. His obsession with collecting the shadows of his victims was the perfect distraction. Felix wagered that the Shadow wouldn't even be watching Felix right now giving him a few moments of perfect solitude.

With nothing but the clothes on his back and a cloak filled with shards of looking glass, Felix fled from the cave at full speed. He closed in on the pink shale of the mermaid lagoon where several mermaids flittered around playfully. They eyed him with suspicion but did not flee when they could not see the Shadow around.

"What are you doing here?" One dark haired mermaid asked.

"I want you to get me off this island," Felix replied firmly.

A howl of laughter echoed in the lagoon. Felix was unimpressed, fighting the urge to get angry and scare them off, "Please. I have something to bargain with," He threw the cloak onto the sand, letting the shards of mirror scatter. The dark haired mermaid came forward, taking a shard and looking into it curiously, "It's an enchanted looking glass. All you have to do is concentrate on one person and the mirror will show them to you."

At his enticing promise, all the mermaids took their own shard to test it out. Their pleased looks said everything to Felix, "We can use this to keep an eye on the Shadow," One of the lesser mermaids whispered to their leader

No doubt the mermaids could see the major advantage behind this tool. However, she could not stop herself from feeling wary, "I know who you are," The leader spoke in a surprisingly dark voice despite her gentle appearance, "I know what you are to the Shadow."

His shameful existence would never leave him. Felix shut his eyes, gathering his composure, "Isn't that more reason to help me?" The mermaids knew what would happen if the Shadow learned of their involvement, " _Please_. It has to be now. While he's still _distracted._ "

Mermaids were fickle but Felix was beyond _pitiful._ The Shadow robbed his dignity, his purity, a merciful _death_. The mermaids had seen the slaves before and knew the cruelty the Shadow was capable of, "Very well. Where would you like us to bring you?"

 _Home._ He had no time to think of anywhere more strategic, "The Enchanted Forest."

 

_"You are on your own when you arrive."_

_"Do not dare speak of our involvement in your escape."_

_"You've brought this on yourself."_

Somehow, the water in the Enchanted Forest seemed _warmer_ than in Neverland. Felix breached the surface of the ocean with a desperate gasp, paddling himself over to the pier and flopping into a bed of ropes. He hacked out seawater on his side, perturbed by how the Shadow's cruel asphyxiation games had made him accustomed to having _less oxygen._

_The Shadow…_

The thought of the creature was sickening and Felix immediately felt the night sky bearing down on him. His eyes darted upward, searching for anything to suggest that he had failed, that the Shadow had already chased him down. His self-defense mechanisms kicked in and Felix was _ready to climb on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness._

 _This was a stupid idea._ His body shuddered violently. He crushed his hands over his eyes and whined pathetically. _The Shadow would find him_. The Shadow would torture him for _years_ as punishment. He'd fuck him non-stop till his mind broke, till he was nothing but a drooling vegetable, _a living sex doll_.

_I don't want that. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please. I'm so sorry-_

"Hey."

Felix flinched as a voice cut through his horrific daydream. He looked up from the rotting wood of the pier, seeing a boy with ruffled brown hair, a soot covered face, and startling blue-green eyes.

"What are you doing there?" The boy asked. His voice was lightly accented with a pleasing tone. It reminded Felix of how little interaction he had ever since the Shadow took him away.

It was foolish to think this boy could offer him anything but Felix had to try. There wouldn't be anyone on the pier for the next few hours and he doubted the drunkards and hustlers in a bar could help him, " _Help_."

The boy cocked a brow, "Sorry. What was that?"

" _H-Help…_ " Felix bit down on his lip, throwing himself forward and hugging the boy's knees in supplication, "Please help me! _He's going to punish me for getting away,_ " He sobbed dryly. His tears had ceased long ago and he had nothing left but wheezing gasps. He whined pathetically when the boy tried to back away. His fingers slipped at the boy's coarse trousers, his numb fingertips unable to find purchase, "I'm begging you! Don't leave me."

The boy looked so confused, _too confused_ , and Felix let his fingers fall. He slumped forward, forehead pressed against the wooden pier as he dug his fingers into his hair. He should throw himself into the pier. That'd be the only true way to escape the Shadow.

A warm hand came upon his numb fingers, "Let's go," The boy murmured, taking hold of Felix's hand and running forward.

Felix stumbled as his legs recovered from surprise and atrophy. He had barely realized what had happened until he felt his bare feet touch what felt like _grass._ He blinked out the disorientation, staring at the boy who led him forward. The boy pulled him into the forest, both of them slipping on wet leaves as they kept running. When the boy let go, Felix nearly broke down once more, unable to catch himself when he tumbled to the ground gracelessly. He was surprised when the boy followed him, lifting a curtain of moss and crawling into the base of a tree.

"Come on, it's in here," The boy called out, ushering Felix in.

With no where else to go, Felix crawled in after the boy, squeezing through a cramped tunnel before reaching an opening. He immediately noted the thick layer of straw on the ground, absorbing the moisture of the soil and acting as a carpet. The sky he feared so much was hidden by the hollow tree. Had it not been for the moon peeking through cracks, Felix figured wherever he was would be pitch black.

"Here," The boy called out, a dry blanket suddenly tossed in Felix's direction, "You're soaking wet."

"Thank you," Felix whispered, tossing the blanket around his shoulders, "Where are we?"

A lantern lit to his right, illuminating the center of a _giant, hollow tree._ The space was small, both the boy and Felix had just enough room for both of them to sit up straight and stretched out their legs. The lantern sat upon a crate which Felix could see what appeared to be books and toys through the cracks.

In the light and without the looming presence of night behind him, Felix took a good look at his mysterious saviour. The boy was just slightly younger than him but held a boyish charm that seemed fit for a child half his age. His eyes were so bright, so clean, Felix felt like his presence dirtied the _innocence_ reflected in them.

"It's my Thinking Tree," The boy chirped, "It's where I come when I want to be alone."

Felix remained quiet at first till the boy tilted his head in an utterly _adorable_ way. His eyes were wide and curious as if waiting for approval from Felix over his hideout, "It's lovely," Felix couldn't stop his grin when the boy lit up at his words, "Why are you helping me?"

"You asked," The boy replied, scratching at a wet patch on his knee, "And, it's lonely. I was bored, I guess."

Boredom, that terrible motivator that the Shadow threw fits over. Felix drew his knees close and rested upon them, "How long can I stay?"

"As long as you like," The boy replied, "As long as you promise to play with me."

His words were oddly phrased. Felix's eyes flickered towards the boy once more. He couldn't be anymore than a year younger than him. Perhaps Felix was mistaken? Before Felix could inquire further, the boy got onto his knees and shuffled towards the exit, "I have to go home for the night. I'll come back though," Felix nodded his thanks, heart wrenching when the boy left him and pleasantly surprised when the boy popped his head back in, "What's your name?"

"Felix."

The boy gave him a toothy smile, "My name's Malcolm."

 

Despite being in the dirt on a bed of hay, this was the best night of sleep in Felix's life. He rolled over when a small shaft of light struck his face, mumbling weakly as he turned onto his side and found himself in a face full of hot bread. He flinched as he awoke, sitting up to find a tray of fresh bread and cured meat. His eyes flickered to his left, spotting the boy with a head of tussled hair and soot on his nose.

"Morning," Felix murmured.

"More like afternoon. Couldn't wake you for breakfast," Malcolm replied with a quirked brow, snacking on a piece of cheese, "I got lunch for you. Stole it from some rich girl. Tastes awful though," He stuck out his tongue and twisted his features, making a disgusted sound before finishing up the blue-freckled cheese in his hands.

Felix laughed at his expression, shaking off his exhaustion and picking up a piece of bread. The Shadow never fed him. He used magic to sustain him and without it, the feeling of starvation returned. At the first bite of bread, his stomach churned and growled, his whole body reawakening. Shamelessly, Felix stuffed his face with bread and meat, consuming it like he had been starving for days.

Malcolm looked concerned at first, a smile eventually cracking on his face when Felix accidentally swallowed a piece of bread too quickly, "Here, I got water too," He said, tossing a skin of water to his new friend.

The water tasted so clean, so warm, unlike the icy, sour sea water that would fill his lungs when the Shadow shoved his head beneath the currents. He threw his head back when he pulled the skin away from his lips, sighing with relief as he capped it and lay back against the bark, "Thank you."

As soon as Felix had eaten a satisfactory amount, Malcolm began to press forward, his innocuous curiosity bleeding through, "Who are you running from?"

There was no reason Felix should tell the truth. It would only put him in danger if the Shadow ever read his mind, "Someone _horrible._ He took me in a couple years back and he hasn't let me out of his sight till last night," If he stayed here any longer, Malcolm would be in danger. Felix didn't know what the creature would do to the boy for daring to _talk_ to his pet, "I should go soon."

"No, stay here," Malcolm said suddenly, "It's safe here. No one knows about this place except for me and I'll never talk," He leapt forward when Felix opened his mouth to protest, resting his hands on Felix's shoulder, "Trust me. No one will even know you're here. _Please_?"

Felix could see the desperation in the boy's gaze. It was nowhere near what he had seen from the creatures of Neverland when confronting the Shadow but it was enough to know that the boy was unhappy. His will to disagree long gone, Felix obliged, nodding to the boy and stretching out comfortably over the hay.

Eyes lighting up, Malcolm reached behind him and pulled out a chessboard, laying it out before them and eagerly picking up the chess pieces scattered under the hay, "It's the only thing the blacksmith plays with me. Come on, let's play."

Chess was not something the Shadow approved of. Felix suggested it to him once and when he had beaten the supposedly omnipotent creature, the Shadow punished him with a night in the Dark Hollow. If Felix lost against the Shadow, the creature would accuse him of throwing the game and he'd suffer the same fate. Looking past his miserable memories, Felix recalled times when he'd gleefully play chess with Rufio or his mother. Tapping into those memories, Felix forced a smile on his face and shuffled forward in the hay, helping Malcolm arrange the pieces.

Several games later, Felix had yet to notch a win into his side of the tree. He wasn't aware he was so abysmal. He remembered besting his mother at least twice without a handicap, "That's six games for me. None for you," Malcolm commented, scratching another line into the wood, "Why are you letting me win?"

Felix figured this was simply friendly trash talk but Malcolm's confused expression disagreed, "What do you mean?" The Shadow's claws feeling fresh around his neck.

"You're letting me win," Malcolm replied, rewinding the game on the board, "I left myself open the entire time and you never once tried to attack."

Felix honestly _wasn't letting him win_ and he wasn't sure what to say, "I… didn't," Was this the Shadow's doing? He instilled _defeat and submission_ into Felix's behaviour. Felix's eyes couldn't stop themselves from flickering around upward searching for his cruel master, "I'm sorry. I-I should go."

He moved to stand but Malcolm stopped him, "No. It's fine," He put the chessboard away, "I want you to stay. Stay as long as you like," Malcolm's hand caressed his shoulder gently, trying to coax away the tenseness.

It was certainly odd that the Shadow had yet to find him. Either he had lost interest or the Thinking Tree really was the perfect hiding spot, "If it's okay with you, I'd like to make a few changes to your Thinking Tree."

Malcolm willingly obliged.

In exchange for his residence, Felix patched up the larger holes within the bark and constructed a makeshift door and lock at the entrance. He knew the Shadow's power was mostly restricted to Neverland. Outside of it, the creature had little more than flight and mundane magic. The simple defenses should suffice to stop the creature.

Malcolm had left for the night, exhausted at the afternoon of construction. No doubt he still had work left to do from the blacksmith he ranted about so much. This left Felix all alone, twitching and yelping at every harsh breeze striking the tree.

" _It's safe here_ ," Felix whispered, shutting his eyes and laying back on the hay, "It's safe here. It's safe here. _It's safe here…_ " He repeated Malcolm's words in a mantra and forced himself to believe it. As long as he stayed within the Thinking Tree, _he would be safe._

 

"You look tired," Malcolm said the next day, peeling an apple and cutting it into _bunnies_.

Felix shrugged, rubbing at the circles under his eyes, "Can't sleep. It's been tough."

"Tell me about it," Malcolm replied with a small sigh, "Hey. Why don't I teach you a trick I use to sleep?" Felix perked at the suggestion. He'd spent years with hellish nightmares. This could be a useful tool, "Every night, after I'm all worn out from work, I lay back in bed, close my eyes, and say this to myself: _'Think lovely thoughts'._ "

"Charming," Felix said, smiling a bit as he took one of the apple bunnies and snacked on it.

"Let me finish," Malcolm snapped playfully, "And every night, whenever I say those words, I'll end up in the most magical place in my dreams. _An island_ filled with magic and a spirit who will play with me till I wake!"

"Neverland."

Malcolm tilted his head, a toothy smile on his face, "Is that what its called? So you know about it too! I knew it was-" His excitement was cut short when he noticed the _utter horror_ reflected on Felix's face, "What?"

"Promise me you'll never go back there," Felix said, "Promise me you'll never say those words again."

Malcolm was confused, almost offended at Felix's denial of his only source of solace, "Why should I?"

"That place is horrible and disgusting and _awful_ ," Felix blurted out, his world spinning at the thought of another potential victim, "And you can never go back. _Please_."

Petulant, Malcolm shook his head like a child refusing to go home, "No. It's the only place I can have fun. You think it's easy working for a blacksmith?" He pushed forward, the soot and burns on his skin revealed in the lantern's light, "The coals, the heat, how could you ever understand? That place in my dreams is the only time I can escape!"

Felix could see now how the Shadow constantly had new victims on the island. Boys like Malcolm who suffered for all of their lives were easy to lure, " _I'll stay_ ," Felix said, "I'll stay here in this Thinking Tree and you can come here every day and I'll play with you."

Still and unreadable, Malcolm simply remained quiet as Felix promptly set up the chess board between them. Felix would be the best damn friend possible, anything to save someone from the Shadow. Before Felix could even set up the board, Malcolm's hands suddenly came around his narrow wrists, eyes gleaming with joy, "Okay. As long as you stay with me."

It pleased Felix that he could save another person from the Shadow's influence. Seconds passed and Felix found his wrists still bound by Malcolm's hands. He cleared his throat loudly, pulling back as he proceeded to set up the chess pieces. Malcolm remained at his side, smile wide and bouncing up and down where he sat. At his joviality, Felix pushed that odd behaviour aside in favour of a more light hearted game.

 

Malcolm seemed _bratty_ at first but Felix grew accustomed to it, started actually craving his presence when Malcolm would make jokes about his life, chatting about Chester, the blacksmith, and his love life with excruciating detail. Felix couldn't reciprocate, merely hinting at some past tragedy but never speaking of it.

"Are you from Pleasure Island?" Malcolm asked, cutting up pieces of cheese he had stolen from the blacksmith.

"Pleasure Island?" Felix asked, finding the name of whatever this was sour on his tongue.

"It's this… _place_ where children go and they never come back. The ones that do make it out, they're always running and scared," Malcolm explained, looking disturbed as he spoke, "Are you from there?"

It sounded close enough to Neverland. Felix wondered if 'Pleasure Island' was just another name for it, "I'm not."

"Chester always told me not to talk with anyone from Pleasure Island. Said I should be happy that I didn't get sold there. But I don't care if you're from Pleasure Island, I'll talk to you anyway," Malcolm declared.

"I'm not, _really_ ," Felix said, wondering why Malcolm was so insistent on Pleasure Island.

"You don't have to pretend," Malcolm replied, looking somewhat irritated, "You act just like how _those boys_ do."

From those words, Felix knew exactly what Pleasure Island was. If he was honest to himself, he knew there wasn't much difference between Pleasure Island and Neverland.

Felix looked away, scratching at the ground absently, "I'm not from Pleasure Island."

"Yes you are!" Malcolm snapped.

"No. I'm really not," Felix replied. Anger had been something had hadn't been allowed to feel and he couldn't deny that it felt good to finally let some of it out, "Who cares where I came from?"

"Because I'm _right_. That's why!"

Felix rolled his eyes, shifting away from Malcolm and leaning against the side of his tree, "You are such a brat."

The tiniest 'hmph' came from Malcolm as the younger boy turned away and snacked on his cheese. Felix watched his back, noticing how angrily the boy stuffed his face with food. He truly was such a child but he figured that was due to his upbringing.

With a sigh and an iron patience trained on him by the Shadow, Felix called out to Malcolm, "I don't want to talk about where I'm from, alright? It's just _painful_ to think about it," Malcolm peered at him over his shoulder, "I didn’t mean to call you a brat," He watched Malcolm shift around slowly, a pout on his lips as he examined Felix's expression, scanning it for sarcasm, "Is everything better now?"

Hands flew at Felix and the boy immediately recoiled, expecting pain but suddenly overcome with a tingly, ticklish sensation at his ribs. He barked with laughter, flailing around in the dirt as Malcolm buried his hands into his sides and tickled him, "Yeah, yeah. All is forgiven," He said in a sing-song voice with a massive grin stretched across his face.

The sensation was excruciating but Felix had endured far worse. His laughter was full and loud, nothing like the screams and pleas of rape and torture. He let Malcolm have his fun, finding enjoyment in seeing the boy so gleeful. While he was turned onto his stomach, Felix swore he felt someone nipping at his neck, love bites unlike the Shadow's puncturing kisses.

Malcolm was sprawled over Felix when he was finished his torment, chuckling to himself as he felt himself rise up and down with Felix's breath. He reached over for a chunk of cheese, pressing it up to Felix's lips to feed him and quirking his brow when the boy turned away.

"Don't like brie," Felix said, wrinkling his nose as Malcolm tried to shove the chunk into his mouth.

"What do you like then?" Malcolm asked, eating the cheese himself, "I'll get it for you."

Felix liked strawberries. He liked feta cheese. He liked sourdough bread. And that was exactly what Malcolm got for him the next day.

 

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Felix repeated till his voice was hoarse, his throat like sandpaper._

_The heat of the stones he was bound to was nearly unbearable. They scalded his skin, cooking him alive under the unrelenting sun of Neverland. He could hear the ocean beneath him, teasing him with the prospect of cool water splashing against his flesh. He groaned and struggled when his mouth was too dry to speak. His skin was burning hot and threatened to peel off him._

_The Shadow watched him, grinning wildly as he pressed a hand to Felix's reddened, swollen skin._

Felix screamed when he awoke, drenched in sweat and sticking to the hay. Without caring for his company, Felix whipped off his sweat soaked tunic. He worked at the fastenings at the front of his pants, ready to shuck all of his clothes off at once till he saw Malcolm beside him setting up a chessboard.

"M-Malcolm?" Felix murmured, blushing as he slowly pulled his pants back around his hips, "I… sorry, nightmare," Malcolm didn't respond, awkwardly yanking at his tunic to cover his lap "Are you okay?"

Saying nothing, the boy shuffled out quickly leaving the air awkward and hot. Felix didn't want to think too much of it, simply snacking on the strawberries by his head before laying back in the hay.

Nothing was brought up when Malcolm returned. The two carried on with their usual conversations and games. Felix couldn't ignore it though, noticing how Malcolm sat a bit closer to him, waited a bit longer to leave than before, and how the boy would tug at the front of his tunic whenever Felix removed his shirt due to the heat.

"I'm going to sleep. You should get going," Felix said, noticing how the boy had stayed away past his bedtime.

"I'll stay here a bit longer," He said, smiling gently, "Just in case you get lonely."

Felix gave him a pleasant sigh before rolling onto his side in the hay. A good rest was something that evaded him for so long, he'd get as many of them as he could while he was here. However, before he could drift off, he felt a hand stroking his hair. He didn't stiffen, discerning between Malcolm and the Shadow by the warmth of his finger tips.

This was wrong. Malcolm had a future. _He didn't_. But he couldn't pull away, even as Malcolm curled up against his back and slept beside him. It felt far too _good_ to have someone's affection and not their savagery.

 

"What?" Malcolm pondered, looking up from the chessboard, "What are you laughing about?"

Felix bit down on his lip, patting on his knee before moving his rook forward, "Check, and I believe… _Checkmate_ ," He laughed when Malcolm threw him the carving knife, letting him note his _twenty-sixth_ victory on the wood.

"Don't look so proud," Malcolm said snappishly, turning up his nose at Felix, "I'm just going easy on you since we're friends."

 _Friends_ , Felix liked the word. He hadn't had a friend in a while. The days in the Thinking Tree had been monotonous with few meals and Felix could do little more than flex his legs for exercise. Even then, Felix would easily count these days as the _best moments of his life._ These were the only nights he had been able to sleep without dreaming of the Shadow clawing at him and dragging him through the dirt. To sleep, he'd repeat Malcolm's mantra to himself till he drifted off.

"Hey…" Felix murmured, noticing Malcolm twitch when he turned his head, "Does it still hurt?" He gestured to the bruise on his left cheekbone, viciously left behind by Chester when he found out Malcolm had been skipping work for a week, lounging around in his Thinking Tree to spend more time with Felix. He always left by the morning and Felix continued to act like he didn't know Malcolm had been staying the night with him.

Malcolm shrugged, reclining back and nudging at Felix's legs with his foot, "Barely even feel it," He said arrogantly, the air of a child-king to him, "Forget him. He knows he couldn't get anything work done without me."

Purely in jest, Felix lifted his head and said, "Perhaps you should stay here tonight. That'll show him."

"It _is_ getting late," Malcolm added in a coy voice, "Perhaps I'll stretch out over the hay beside you. Tuck myself in your blanket."

"It's a small blanket," Felix said, waving the coarse fabric in front of him, loving how Malcolm hadn't backed down from Felix's comment. On the contrary, _the boy crawled towards him._

For that brief moment, Felix had forgotten all about his hopeless situation, forgot that he was nothing but a broken-hearted fool living inside of a tree, he shut his eyes, yawning as he thought only of Malcolm and his new life till he opened his eyes and saw _darkness._

_A shadowy creature looking back at him, eyes blazing with hatred as he reached into Malcolm's chest and tore him into pieces._

Flinching harshly, Felix pulled away, crawling backwards till he met the bark, " _Don't do that._ "

Disappointed but not hurt, Malcolm backed off, "I'll see you tomorrow then, okay?"

Felix waved him goodbye, feeling awful about what he had done. Malcolm had been nothing but good to him. Even after learning about the consequences if Felix was ever caught, Malcolm stood by his side and only offered him more food, proof of his commitment. The boy had no friends, no one but a cruel blacksmith as his mentor. Felix felt like he could relate.

 _His cruel, inhuman master_ , Felix hoped Malcolm would never encounter the Shadow again.

"I almost forgot," Malcolm said, pushing past the rejection as he removed a slip of paper from his tunic, "I asked a couple travellers that came in today. They can't help you but they told me about someone that could."

Like any human being could stand a chance against the Shadow. Felix resigned himself to humouring Malcolm's suggestion.

"Calls himself _Zoso the Dark One_ , a practitioner of dark magic. All the travelers coming from the south speak of him."

Felix's eyes sparked at the title. _Practitioner of dark magic,_ he didn't even know those existed, "H-How do I reach him?"

Smiling at his immediate interest, Malcolm read off the hastily scribbled instructions, "He visits peasants travelling dangerous roads to offer help. Maybe he can help you out," He gave Felix the instructions, "Something to look into-" He fell over with an 'oof' as Felix _tackled him down with a hug_ , "H-hey… come on. We're both boys."

" _This is exactly what I needed_ ," Felix whispered, "Thank you. Thank you. _Thank you…_ " He mumbled over and over, hugging Malcolm as tight as he could.

Moments later, when both of them were sated of their hug, Malcolm broke away first with an awkward smile, "I should get going."

"I'll come back," Felix said as Malcolm crawled towards the exit, "As soon as everything's clear, I'll come back here and wait for you."

Malcolm could've kissed him right then and there but chose not to, respecting Felix's wish from before. He left their hideout and shut the door behind him, leaving Felix to sleep. The taller boy shrouded the lantern, darkening the world around him as he stretched out over the hay. He wondered if this _Zoso_ was real. By all means, it could be an elaborate hoax but it still gave him _hope._

"The Dark One, Zoso," He murmured, contemplating a plan. If he had only kept a shard of mirror for himself, he could have used it to find The Dark One. Shrugging it off, Felix tucked the paper into his own tunic generously provided to him by Malcolm. The thought of the boy warmed him. The moment he was free, he'd take Malcolm away from his awful home and bring him back to live on his estate.

_"Felix?"_

Malcolm's voice came from outside the tree. Curious, Felix sat up and moved closer to the bark.

"Felix, are you awake?" Malcolm seemed to be in the tunnel judging from the muffled sound, "I left something of mine inside," The second statement seemed to be spoken _right outside the door._

Felix didn't move, _couldn't move,_ petrified to the spot.

"Felix!" The voice called, a knock on the door, "Let me in already," When no reply came, the knocking and shouts continued, "Felix! Open up!"

Felix shook his head and _shattered_ when the knocking stopped.

"… _open up, pet_ ," The door rattled violently, nearly breaking out of its hinges, " _Open the door_!"

 _No, no, no, no, no…_ Felix scrambled away from the door, pressed up against the bark and crushing his eyes closed. _Please be a nightmare. I'm safe here. I'm safe here. I'm safe here…_ He screamed when a loud kick nearly broke the door down. A second slam came from the outside, the entire tree shaking as the Shadow hammered it continuously, trying to break through and _failing._

There was still hope. As long as the Shadow never broke through, as long as Felix could bunker down till the sun rose, _Felix could save himself._ He held onto this single shred of hope, swallowing his fear and watching the tree tremble fruitlessly.

"I'm not coming out," Felix said confidently, "You can't have me!"

The slamming stopped.

Felix caught the stench before he saw the bark of the tree _wilting away,_ the tallies used to keep score melting into the rotting wood. When the decay hit the hay, it turned the floor into waste and _maggots_. It was as if the very life force of the tree was torn out _like a shadow_. The tree crumbled around him and threatened to crush him with it. The stench was unbearable and Felix slowly felt his vision fading as the entropic magic infected him as well. He didn't want to die, not like this, so his body unhinged the door and scrambled out by itself.

He sprinted the moment he broke free from the wood, feet slipping on the leaves and stumbling over the roots. The moment he stepped forward, before his eyes even had a chance to adjust to the starlight, a heavy force rammed him into the dirt and crushed his body. Pure darkness and demonic light bore into Felix's eyes.

_"Found you…"_

 

"Ugh…nnh," Felix groaned weakly, gripping into the Shadow's tunic as his back was scraped bloody by the tree he was pressed against. His legs were hooked over the Shadow's arms, forced over the Shadow's shoulders and straining under the harsh manhandling. His body pushed and pulled against the tree, leaves rustling at the sheer force of the creature's ruthless fucking _,_ "-hurts. _It hurts_ …"

" _Just as you like it,_ yes?" The Shadow whispered into his ear, groaning as he slowed his pace, relishing the _bruising skin_ slapping against him, "Why else would you run off, _tease?_ You wanted it rough. Wanted me to _chase you down and punish you_ ," He bit down on Felix's ear, drawing blood and letting it stain his lips. The startling red stood out so garishly on his porcelain white skin, "You always keep things so… _interesting._ "

Felix's entire body was wracked with pain, his hips feeling like they'd shatter under the impact, _black bruises_ upon intimate flesh that would never heal. The burning ache between his legs was unbearable; the demon's ghostly-white cock was stained _red_. Just moments before, Felix was embracing Malcolm; Felix was _happy_ , and now he was being assaulted against a tree with Malcolm's beloved home rotting in the distance. _No,_ even if punishment would follow, even if his brashness and stupidity was what kept the Shadow interested, Felix could not stand for this. He opened his mouth, lips twisted in a snarl but before he could speak, a finger came over his lips.

"Unless, of course," The Shadow said, snapping his hips in one brutal motion, "You weren't playing and you really were trying to run away," His soulless eyes filled with nothing but light locked onto Felix's. He reached into his own tunic, curiously withdrawing a _shard of mirror_ , "Then you've left me no choice but to… _fix you_."

The mirror glinted in the light before it settled on one image: _Malcolm sleeping in a cot._ Felix was a fool not to clean up all those shards and pass them to the mermaids for safe keeping. All along, the Shadow knew what he was doing, _who he was with_ ; it was simply a matter of _where_ he was. It'd be the same for Malcolm too.

"Fix me?" Felix asked shakily, groaning softly as the Shadow stopped

Felix could feel the Shadow's chuckling deep inside him, slithering deeper and deeper till he'd never be able to forget such a violation. The creature breathed his air, cooing as he took Felix's left wrist and right ankle, " _Those troublesome hands and feet_ , used for nothing but fighting and fleeing, I'd take them all away," His grip tightened, threatening to break bone and leaving a bruise. His hands suddenly appeared on Felix's throat, magic keeping Felix suspended in his humiliating position, "It'd be such a shame to lose your beautiful voice or your tongue _so I'll take your teeth instead_. Every single one, plucked right out of your mouth."

Felix whimpered, his whole body trembling. Pain was no longer relevant, his prospective future more horrifying than anything in the present, " _I-I was playing._ I love you. I need you. I love it when you-" He shut himself up when hands gripped at the side of his face, clutching his skull as if to crush it.

"What good are your eyes for other than _staring at other boys_ ," The Shadow crooned, tilting his head in contemplation. He wrenched Felix's right eye open with his thumb and forefinger, "But they are so beautiful to look at. Perhaps I'll replace them with _glass eyes,"_ His tongue extended forward and Felix shook in the monster's iron hold. Felix let out a pathetic whine as the Shadow _lapped at his eye_ , forcing it open as he licked every inch of it.

" _I'm sorry_ ," Felix choked out, muscles twitching in his face as he endured the Shadow's utterly thorough violation of his eye, "I'm-" His breath choked, feeling the Shadow's stone cold tongue dip under the folds of his eyelids and _keep moving deeper_.

"Yes. No need for these useless eyes," The Shadow said. He had lifted his finger but Felix was too scared to shut his eyes. He smirked as he closed in, breathing in Felix's air once more, "I should just _tear them out_ ," He sunk his forefinger into the skin of Felix's forehead and _dragged down,_ tearing a rip into Felix's face.

The boy screamed his throat raw, all the magic restraining him disappearing as he collapsed onto his stomach and clutched at the hot, gushing wound on his face. He could still feel his eye, realizing that the Shadow had tore out the flesh of his nose bridge instead of his eye but the searing pain was the same. He remained curled on the ground, wailing in pain as blood squeezed from his hands while the Shadow took him by the hips and fucked him against the forest floor.

"There's still one matter at hand," The Shadow whispered, driving himself deep into Felix, " _That boy_ you were so fond of. I want you to decide what to do with him," His words were the only things to break through Felix's pain, "Shall I turn him into a pet like you? Shall I burn him alive in his own kiln? _Decide_ , Felix."

As reward for his kindness, Felix was to give him an awful fate. He knew his silence would only set Malcolm on the worst possible path, a punishment fully concocted by the Shadow. His whole body rocked as the Shadow took him, driving his face deeper into the dirt where his blood blended into an unholy mixture, "I want you to…" He gasped, the Shadow taking his hair and pulling it back, "I-I-I want you to… _break his mind_."

The Shadow hummed at the suggestion, letting go of Felix's hair and slowing his thrusts, "Go on."

Felix remained slouched in the dirt, cheek against a root as he looked to the Shadow with one eye, "When he comes to Neverland in his dreams, _torment him_. Drive the worst images into his mind, the only place he can never escape, until he takes his own life," And if it all worked out, _Malcolm would be spared_ as long as he never stepped foot on Neverland ever again.

" _I like it…_ Very well," The Shadow said, "I will destroy his mind when he comes to Neverland in his dreams. And when he takes his life, I'll make you watch. This is his payment for trying to _take you from me._ "

Felix didn't fight it. The Shadow's ignorance of Felix's advice was the only blessing he had received from the creature. He slumped against the dirt, shut everything out as he receded into silence while the Shadow ravaged his torn body.

 

_…_

_Another 20 years? 200 years? How much longer would Felix live?_ At the very least, the Shadow didn't follow through with his horrific redesign of Felix's body. His exploration privileges were stripped from him and he was only allowed to leave the cave with the Shadow's accompaniment. His wrists and ankles were bound, at most allowing him to shuffle around slowly. His eyes were blindfolded, a gag pulled past his lips like the bit of a horse to prevent him from communicating to anything but the Shadow. Worst of all, he was forbidden from wearing clothes, turning him into the _pet_ the Shadow wanted.

Felix's only pasttime was to make up stories in his head, think about Rufio's life after being granted eternal youth, how his dad coped without his oldest son, where Malcolm had gone. His only solace was that the Shadow never mentioned the boy again meaning he never found him. His favourite story was the one where Malcolm grew up to be a king, having been a bastard son all along.

 _Why wouldn't his mind break?_ Had he not endured enough? He groaned into his bit, shuffling in bed and rattling his chains as he felt himself build up to another hysterical fit. His breathing stopped after a too cruel punishment and the Shadow forced him back to life. He tried to let his body rot away with atrophy but unknown magic preserved his heavy limbs. The only wound that ever remained was the scar on his face, a reminder for his _betrayal_ to his 'lover'. Felix whined pathetically, thrashing in the bed as he screamed through the bit.

_"What's the matter?"_

Felix froze where he lay. He wasn't aware the Shadow was in the room.

A chuckle came from the dark creature. He moved like a breeze as he approached Felix, one hand gliding over the top of his head affectionately. In response, Felix climbed onto his hands and knees, _presenting_ just as the Shadow liked it. When his gag was removed, Felix took a hasty breath before opening his mouth wide, tongue peeking out as he awaited the Shadow's next move.

A second chuckle, "Silly boy. That's not what I'm here for," His fingers drifted down from Felix's head, skimming the blindfold before removing it.

Felix hadn't caught it at first, turning away as the light of the Shadow's eyes blinded him. When he slowly adjusted and turned back, he was unable to believe what he saw: _The Shadow looked just like…_ "Malcolm?"

There was nothing but utter satisfaction and cruelty as the Shadow burst into laughter and flew around in his chamber, "The fool came to Neverland on his own volition," He rushed forward suddenly, taking Felix's neck and lifting him into the air, "Nasty boy, you thought you could protect him but I _found_ him and I will make him _suffer_."

Felix couldn't understand. _Twenty years_ had passed; Malcolm should be an adult by now and unaffected by the Shadow's influence. He collapsed onto the bed when the Shadow released him, coughing violently as he fell, "You made a deal with him."

"I didn't intend to," The Shadow replied, snickering as he lowered himself onto Felix's trembling body, "I planned on killing him and contracting his son," _His son_ , so Malcolm had grown up, "But it'd be an utter waste to not absorb someone with such _innocence_ , especially as an adult," He took Felix's hands, resting them against his chest so he could feel his artificial, hollow heartbeat, "Do you understand what that means? After I absorb him, every time we _fuck_ , he'll be fucking you as well. Won't you be so happy?"

Felix tried to tear his hands away only for the Shadow to _strike him across the face,_ " _You worthless brat._ How dare you tear away from me?" The Shadow took hold of his wrists once more, flying into the air and purposely dangling Felix over the bed, "Someone wants to spend the night in the Dark Hollow, doesn't he?"

Felix tried to protest but found his gag blocking him, the blindfold flashing over his eyes the next second.

" _Yes_ , I think you do," The Shadow growled, smacking him right across his scar before flying both of them off to the hellish landscape of the Dark Hollow.

The creature dropped Felix onto the dirt carelessly, calling his enslaved shadows over with a howl. Almost immediately, Felix was swept into the air, tossed and tumbling into the dirt as he screamed under his gag. His restrains were torn off by the many hands reaching for him, bonds snapping off like putty.

"Have fun _, pet_ ," The Shadow wearing Malcolm's appearance said, laughing as he soared away.

With the Shadow gone, Felix no longer felt the need to restrain himself to avoid punishment. He thrashed against the slave shadows, scrambling across the dirt trying to get away. It was a hopeless endeavor but at the very least, Felix could pretend.

Eventually, Felix was shoved face-first into the dirt, pinned down by hands all over his arms and legs. He screamed, thrashing like a wild animal against ungodly creatures, "Get off!" He screamed, groaning when one of them grabbed him by the hair and flipped him over. Hot white light seared into Felix's eyes. The pain would come next, the horrible ache of forced sex and violation of his body, pride, and soul.

"J-Just do it," Felix hissed at the hovering creature. The other shadows were floating around them, bearing down on him with similar gazes, " _Get it over with_ ," He said, noting that the creature _was not moving_ as if it were satisfied with simply hovering over him. Felix pulled his lips back in a snarl. He wouldn't let the Shadow _trick him_ again, "Stop playing around!"

 _The shadow backed off._ Felix lay in the dirt, wide-eyed and gaping as every shadow in the vicinity simply floated around him and stared. As soon as the wonder wore off, Felix receded backwards into the hollow of a tree, curling up and shutting his eyes while the shadows continued to circle him at a peaceful pace.

Felix spoke nothing of this to the master Shadow. The last thing he wanted was that creature finding out that something on the island did not play out as he planned. Felix hoped it meant the creature was losing touch with the island, that after all these years, Neverland finally took pity on Felix. _What was changing?_ Felix had yet to understand and judging from the usual arrogance from the Shadow, Felix assumed he hadn't figured it out either.

"It's _magnificent_ , my pet," The Shadow exclaimed, flitting through the air like a leaf in the wind while Felix sat upon the bed with his usual bondage minus the blindfold, "I assumed that a grown man would've lasted little more than a week but _this_ , this goes beyond my expectation!" The creature was utterly ecstatic, _child-like_ , a word Felix would never associate with the sadist, "Could be centuries before I need a new host."

Felix nodded along weakly, fighting his gasp when the Shadow suddenly flew at him.

"You make such wonderful choices, _my love_ ," The Shadow cooed, leaning in and nipping at his neck, "Picking such a wonderful _prey_ for me," His head popped up suddenly, "That's right. I got you a present. It's a new looking glass," He pointed Felix to his left where a dingy looking mirror stood on a wooden, water-worn rack. No doubt the Shadow had fished it out from the sea.

Felix looked into the Shadow's eyes, nodding with acknowledgement and forcing his lips to twitch upward with a smile. The peace was short-lived as the Shadow took Felix by his handcuffs and pulled him over, resting the boy's head on his shoulder while his body was tucked on his lap.

"Don't think I've forgotten, _whore_ ," The Shadow's voice was harsh, body flickering between porcelain skin and wispy shadow, "I will make that boy suffer for daring to touch you. Even if it takes a hundred years, I will do it and make you watch. Do you understand?" He punctuated his question with a small shake to Felix. The boy smartly nodded back, fear obvious in his eyes, "That's my good boy…"

Felix fought the urge to shudder under the Shadow's insistent touch, his cold lips against his neck worsened by the Shadow's new appearance. He hummed suddenly, catching the Shadow's attention as he gestured towards the looking glass.

The Shadow chuckled at the motion, pulling slightly, "I haven't enchanted it yet so it won't work," He raised his hand, always eager to show off his magic and more importantly, _delaying Felix's rapture._ His hand traced a circle in the air, a wispy shimmer of magic following his hand as _nothing happened._

Felix could immediately feel the air tense. He didn't dare move as the Shadow froze, expression unsure and vulnerable in a way Felix had never seen before. The creature's hand traced the air once more. Still, nothing happened. He shuddered when the Shadow threw him to the bed, climbing over him and holding his wrists to the backboard.

The Shadow spoke no words. His nostrils flared in a disturbingly human way; his talons tore into Felix's flesh as he stretched his arms to an uncomfortable distance. Felix groaned in pain, pleading without words. A hand came over his forehead, palm gliding downward as he _seemed_ to be casting some sort of enchantment on Felix. His _pet_ felt nothing, his magic non-existent.

There was never a time in Felix's entire enslavement had he ever seen the Shadow so utterly confused. The creature tore away from Felix, staring at him like a madman before glaring at the looking glass, his reflection looking back at him but the Shadow _seeing someone else_. Felix remained on the bed, laying on his side while the Shadow hovered in venomous silence. Before Felix could even inquire, the Shadow disappeared, utterly manic in expression and stature.

This wasn't any sort of coincidence. Something was changing and if Felix had to bet, _it must've been Malcolm's doing._

Felix's peace was short-lived. He heard the Shadow tearing through Neverland, no doubt throwing a tantrum over his loss of magic. It was his own foolish mistake for contracting someone _stronger_ than him. Regardless of this embarrassing fact, the Shadow had full intention to _take this out on Felix._

" _You nasty, little whore!_ " The Shadow hissed, tearing Felix's Shadow out from his back, "You knew, didn't you?"

This was something the Shadow had never done to Felix before, something reserved only for his enemies. All this time, Felix never understood what a _mercy_ this was. His whole back was burned, electrocuted, flayed, boiled, frozen, shattered. It was utter agony that Felix could not comprehend. He screamed so loud, the gag made little to no difference.

"Answer me!" The Shadow growled, stepping on Felix's head and using it as leverage to wrench his Shadow off, "You planned this, didn't you?"

The gag broke off, allowing Felix's to speak. Even without the pain, Felix would be without words. The Shadow never accepted 'no' for an answer; it was his first rule. If Felix denied his involvement, the Shadow would punish him for breaking a rule. If he said _yes_ , the Shadow would punish him for treason. _Which one was the better fate?_

"I didn't-" Felix was cut off with a scream, his head crushed against the stone, "I didn't know! I didn't! Please, stop!"

The Shadow let go. Felix's own shadow snapped back into place and he collapsed onto the floor like a boneless mess. Every nerve of his body was firing, body caught up in many quick tremors. This was the worst pain he had ever felt even compared to the hellish nightmare he had lived these past decades.

Felix squealed as the Shadow picked him up from around the waist, letting his still bound limbs dangle in the air as he flew out from the cavern. Felix quickly noted that they were heading _away_ from the Dark Hollow. The Shadow must've learned of his slaves' new allegiance, _must've learned of Felix's deception._

 

"It's nothing personal, Felix," The mermaid cooed into his ear, slathering his body with a sea foam concoction. Almost immediately, Felix felt his entire body heat up and tighten around his abdomen, shocks of heat riding through his loins and right into his twitching cock _restrained_ by a ring of seaweed.

Felix threw his head back, straining at the ropes tightly spreading his arms and legs. Felix was suspended by his arms, barely on his knees resting upon a small, partially submerged plateau. The hands continued to grope his entire body, spreading the aphrodisiac on every inch of skin. He whined pathetically, hanging his head and nearly biting through his lip as fingers caressed the head of his cock, smearing the aphrodisiac foam all over the folds of skin. Begging would make it worse but how much longer could Felix hold out with every single inch of his body assaulted with pleasure?

"Ridiculous," The Shadow's growling voice caught Felix's attention. The creature had been sitting in front of him, slouched against the rocks while three mermaids worked every part of his body into putty, "I was careless. This mistake is inexcusable," He snarled, glaring into Felix's eyes the entire time, "This is _your fault_!"

Felix wanted to glare back so desperately. He had no power to force the Shadow to do anything. The creature had nothing to blame but his own selfishness, his _sadistic desire_ to destroy everything Felix held dear.

"Well?" The Shadow said, waiting for Felix's reply, "What do you have to say for yourself?" He leaned forward on his knees, watching him critically.

It was difficult to even lift his eyes, every slightest movement sending shocks to his leaking erection, "I'm sorry," Felix murmured, voice breaking as hands glided all over his hips, "I was _selfish_ ," He gasped when the Shadow suddenly appeared before him, torsos pressing together as the mermaids backed off, "I did this," He murmured, wrists flexing as the Shadow's pressed his hands into the small of Felix's back and drifted downward, rubbing the aphrodisiac deeper into his skin, "Forgive me?"

His words were blasphemy, absolute rubbish made up to appease his domineering master. The Shadow tilted his head back, his sadistic expression ironically _fitting_ on Malcolm's face. His hands continued to search, rubbing the foam deeper as Felix writhed in his grasp. Lips met the shell of his left ear, the Shadow lapping away the sea foam and feeling a tingle at his tongue, " _No._ "

The Shadow slapped Felix across the face _hard_ , his already heated skin doubling the pain. Felix was caught between a moan and a scream, clenching his teeth as his entire body flexed against the strain, "Keep him like this and you'll be rewarded when I return."

Scratching him across the face as he left, the Shadow slipped away through the crevices of the grotto. Felix groaned as the mermaids returned, hands once again smearing their aphrodisiac all over his skin.

"Your master's _scared_ , did you know?" One mermaid cooed, fingers spreading the foam on the sensitive spot behind Felix's ears, "He's losing control of the island."

"I saw him trying to call a storm," Another mermaid said, lifting Felix's leg, "He couldn't do it and he threw a fit."

Felix threw his head back, screaming in a strained voice as even the skin between his _toes_ heated and throbbed, " _I can't!_ I-I-can't… I can't…!" He shook his head rapidly, the denial of his orgasm becoming unbearable.

"Shall we show mercy to him?" The third mermaid asked, "It's not like that Shadow can see us anymore."

All three ladies shrieked with laughter, taking a bucket of water and pouring away all of the aphrodisiac. They untied the seaweed around his cock, jerking him to completion. Felix's knees parted, head tossed back once more, back arching beautifully as he came. The mermaids spoke nothing of it, simply resting in the shallow pool while Felix regained his composure.

Had he been in Dark Hollow, this would have never happened, "Thank you."

"Poor boy," The first mermaid spoke, flipping her golden hair as she washed off her hands in the waterfall, "Perhaps _Pan_ will be kinder to you after he takes over the island."

"Pan?" Felix said, confused. The Shadow said he bonded with Malcolm. Perhaps this wasn't his doing after all, "Who is Pan?"

"Peter Pan!" The second mermaid said, pouring another bucket of water over Felix's body, "The Shadow's new 'guest' as he puts it. Such a _handsome boy_."

 _New guest._ So the Shadow failed to bind with Malcolm? His appearance said otherwise so Felix deduced that Malcolm had taken a new name. More importantly, the Shadow _really was_ _losing control of the island_. Felix had thought nothing of it before when the Shadow could no longer cast certain spells. He lost control of the Dark Hollow and was forced to bargain with mermaids to carry out his punishment. The Shadow lost so much power in such a short time, _the mermaids weren't even scared of him anymore._

"It's due time for Neverland to have a new ruler," The first mermaid said, mixing another batch of aphrodisiac in a large, hollow shell, "This one's had such garishly vulgar tastes."

Felix scoffed, the smallest smile on his lips at the sheer black comedy behind her words. The mermaids shrieked with laughter once more as they returned to Felix's punishment and smeared his form with aphrodisiac, a thinner layer simply to deceive the Shadow should he pop in.

 

It wasn't just his power. The Shadow himself was changing. He was softer in bed, taking time to stretch and prepare Felix before taking him, using his lips and fingertips instead of his fangs and talons. He'd lay down on Felix gently, always careful not to distribute his weight into one spot for too often. The Shadow would press kisses all over his neck, rolling his hips slow as he took him.

 _"Good Felix. You're always so good,"_ The Shadow whispered, arms coiled around Felix's shoulders as he pressed his hips flush against Felix's, "Do you know how much you mean to me?"

Felix didn't know how to react, gripping into the backboard with his still cuffed hands while the Shadow continued his steady, gentle pace. The creature had removed his blindfold and gag, a rare occurrence when they had sex.

" _I was so lonely_ ," The Shadow groaned, hands gliding up to play with the chain between Felix's wrists, "Everything I had ran away or _broke_. But not you," His hands slid down Felix's arms and rested on his neck, caressing it softly, "My lovely pet. I don't know how I'd live without you."

The Shadow moved in; Felix didn't fight. Their lips met in the gentlest kiss Felix had ever felt. _He would never let himself get fooled_. Whatever game the creature was playing, Felix would never reciprocate his affection. Their lips parted slowly. Felix stared into the creature's depthless eyes and swore he saw _storm-coloured pupils._

Before he could inquire, the Shadow tightened his grip and _strangled him._ Felix was unable to react, utterly surprised by the Shadow's sudden savagery. He thrashed in bed, unable to make a single noise as the Shadow nearly crushed his throat. The softness in the Shadow's expression was gone, replaced with a steely coldness reminiscent of the very first night the Shadow left him in the Dark Hollow.

In a frenzy as his vision began to swim, Felix swung his bound arms forward and struck the Shadow hard across the face. The creature actually _reeled back_ , releasing Felix's throat and tumbling backwards in bed. Felix coughed violently, desperate to drag in a breath. He rubbed at his throat, feeling bruises already purpling on his skin. Folded over, Felix chanced a look at the Shadow, peering up to see an utterly lost expression.

The Shadow flickered into darkness, white eyes pinched with frustration, _"No, no, no!"_ He repeated over and over, gripping onto his head and thrashing, _"This was your fault! All your fault!"_ He took hold of Felix once more, _hurling him across the room._

Felix couldn't scream when he struck the wall, breath knocked out of him. It was a miracle none of his ribs cracked. He covered his head when the Shadow closed in, whimpering in supplication. Before Felix could beg or even lower his hands, _the Shadow disappeared._

For the next few days, the Shadow hadn't come back. Felix was left alone in the cave lying on the bed. He thought about waiting for the Shadow, knowing how vicious the Shadow got whenever he found Felix out of bed.

To distract himself, Felix would rattle at his bonds trying to break free. It was fully possible they were constructed by magic but he knew the Shadow had an appreciation for human-made restraints, the high class leather in his gag spoke for him. He was thankful the Shadow had removed his blindfold letting him, at the very least, count the stars before he slept.

What were Felix's options if he got through this? The Shadow was losing his power. He couldn't even enchant a looking glass which meant he'd have no way of hunting for Felix if he left the island. Felix could try that again, have the mermaids bring him back to the Enchanted Forest while the Shadow was distracted. _Or_ , he could search for 'Peter Pan' and beg for his help. If he divulged his story, surely Pan would protect him from the Shadow with the full force of Neverland, doubly so if he really was Malcolm and remembered him.

But what if he wasn't Malcolm?

What if Pan was an even crueller master?

Felix became still, staring at his manacles and seeing a heavier, barbed set in its place. Nothing good would come from this wretched island.

Sleep seemed to be the only place Felix could find peace. He would never forget when the Shadow forced his way into Felix's mind, violating the deepest part of him as he corrupted all of his memories. _Rufio_ , a name that once meant everything to him was warped into nothing more than a painful whisper. Felix had no dreams to escape to, simply blackness and silence as he slept.

A hand carding through his hair woke him. Felix didn't react, hoping he was simply imagining the touch and waiting for himself to fall back asleep. The hand was gentle, unlike the Shadow, but Felix would never let down his guarded. He waited for talons to sink in, fingers tightening around his neck, a palm on his cock, a brutal smack to his cheek. Nothing would surprise him anymore.

"You."

The voice was light and soft. A hand pressed Felix's shoulder, turning him slowly onto his back. He opened his eyes, seeing a familiar silhouette as his eyes focused slowly. The Shadow enchanted this cave preventing anyone from entering it. _Only one such being on Neverland could break the Shadow's magic._

"Felix?"

Felix let out a tiny gasp, eyes meeting _Malcolm's_ and both of them gaping, "Malcolm," He sat up, immediately noticing his state of undress. He regretted kicking the sheet off the bed in his sleep, "I…I-I… um," He struggled to speak without the Shadow's permission.

"So you're the Shadow's plaything?" Peter said, tiny smirk on his face.

Even without words, it was obvious what he was. The image he presented spoke for itself: A naked boy laying on a bed with his wrists and ankles bound. Felix couldn't find any words, simply staring at Peter and trying to take in as much as he could. Peter was slightly older, his face more trimmed and his features sharper. He still had traces of baby fat to his skin, a downy softness only possible for a small child. This was definitely Malcolm even if he referred to himself as another name.

"Peter Pan," Felix corrected himself.

"That's right," Peter exclaimed, "But forget formalities. You can call me Malcolm if you really must."

Felix was so perplexed but he had yet to understand why, "You remember me."

Peter's expression was a mix between amusement and curiosity, "Of course I do, how could I forget? One day, I'm beating you thoroughly at chess. The next day, my Thinking Tree was rotted to the ground."

That night, when the Shadow was finally fed up with Felix's freedom, he hunted the boy down and terrorized him into submission. From that day onward for the next twenty or so years, Felix was bound and gagged as punishment. Felix hung his head, unable to find humour in Peter's light-hearted recollection.

"He talks about you a lot," Peter said, sitting at the foot of the bed. Felix's eyes flickered up for just a moment before meeting the ground once more, "He calls you _his lover_. Says you'll do anything for his affection."

Felix cringed at how simple the Shadow made his ordeal. Felix used to fight; he didn't want his 'affection'. His demonic master tortured him into full submission. This was a never-ending nightmare, not any sort of normal relationship. His shameful purpose was revealed to _Malcolm_ and it was nearly too painful to bear even if his state of undress and bondage already spoke it without words. Felix hung his head lower, gripping into the sheets tightly, "I'm sorry," _For dirtying you with my presence._

Peter barked with laughter, "Sorry for what? I don't like people who apologize for nothing," He leapt off the bed, circling around Felix as waved his hand in the air and undid the cuffs, "Now get up. We're going on an adventure," Felix didn't move. He stared at his unbound wrists in confusion, "Right, you're going to need these," He waved his hand once more, materializing a bundle of clothes at Felix's feet, "Move along then. There's no adventure to be had in here."

Felix was confused, silent as he examined the bundle of clothes on the floor. He looked back at Pan, watching the boy leave the cave. He scampered after him _buck naked_ , still holding his wrists together despite the lack of bonds.

"W-what?" Peter snickered, amused by Felix's state of undress, "You're going adventuring like that?" He laughed in his face, hands on his hips with a condescending expression.

This wasn't funny. Felix didn't think this was funny at all. Twenty years ago, the Shadow tore his clothes off his body and he hadn't worn anything since. He was beaten into the dirt the last time he wore their blanket like a cloak. Felix's brows knitted together; he bit down on his lower lip. He tucked his head down and fought the whimper in his throat.

"Felix?" His laughter died, his smile faded.

Felix backed away from the exit, feet shuffling awkwardly towards his bed.

"He really did a number on you. Didn't he?" Peter said as he approached Felix, "Don't be scared. I've got something to show you," He waved his hand in the air, magic shimmering from his fingers. Felix almost ducked his head in fear but stilled himself. Clothes materialized onto his body. On inspection, Felix realized they were nearly identical to Peter's clothes, "Have you been everywhere on the island?"

Felix didn't know how to reply. _Tortured everywhere_ , would've been the more appropriate phrase. Everywhere on the island was unpleasant to him. There wasn't a single area of the map where the Shadow hadn't mercilessly raped him or punished him unreasonably. Felix shook his head before the awful images could flash by.

Peter didn't look disappointed. If anything, Felix thought he looked intrigued. Felix kept his eyes averted, fingers knotted into his cloak. More than two decades under the Shadow's thumb, locked up and forced to lay in his bed every night, punished till he passed out for even the slightest mistakes. Peter would never be able to comprehend the hell Felix was forced to endure, "I've got a place to show you. You'll like it."

Felix doubted it but let Peter's optimism guide him anyway. He led Felix into the forest, crossing over a narrow, wet stream before they came across the pixie dust trees. Felix swallowed dryly at the sight. The Shadow _never_ let him near these trees, aware that Felix could use the dust to escape Neverland. The worst punishments always came whenever Felix even _approached_ this area of the forest.

_A vine wrapped around his neck strangling him as the Shadow used that as leverage to hoist the boy up and down on his cock. Face turning blue, forced to ride his demonic master, bleeding at every opening._

Felix stopped walking, hands fisted at his sides. Peter looked at him, quirking a brow in inquiry. Felix shook his head in reply, refusing to take another step forward. He shut his eyes tightly, whole body trembling. A warm hand touched his shoulder and Felix's eyes snapped open, hands still at his side, _fighting would make it worse._

"You're with me now," Peter said confidently, "You'll like this. I promise," He pulled him along, stopping at the biggest pixie dust tree in the bunch, "This is a very important place for me," Peter replied, placing a hand on the first tree, "I want this to be my new Thinking Tree."

Felix cracked his eyes open, watching Pan stare up at the tree with a glazed look. _The Thinking Tree_ , Peter's sacred home which protected Felix from the Shadow. He placed his hands along the bark, imagining the grooves they had used to keep score. He smiled just a bit, finally finding the strength to speak, "It's not hollow."

Peter scoffed at his audacity, folding his arms and circling Felix, "It lets me escape," Pan replied, floating up into the branches looking for a blossom in bloom, "That's why it’s a thinking tree," He grumbled, unable to find any fresh pixie dust, "I'm getting bored, Felix. Why don't we do something fun?"

Felix stiffened at the words. The Shadow used those same words often. He unbuckled his belt, letting it slide to the ground as he opened his ratty green tunic and unlaced the front of his pants.

Peter returned to the ground when he found a blossom, holding it to Felix and leaping when he saw the boy stripping down, "W-What are you doing?"

Felix froze at Peter's baffled look. There was only one thing the Shadow ever wanted from him. He released his pants, flustered and red as he closed up his tunic and turned away. He kept his head down, fingers kneading nervously into the hem of his shirt, "I'm sorry," Felix jumped when Peter placed a hand on his head, ruffling his hair in an awfully affectionate manner.

"Forget the pixie dust. I've got something you'll like more," Peter tossed the blossom away, hands cutting through the air as he conjured a chess board in hand, "Well?"

Pieces set up perfectly, both boys sitting on the forest floor staring at one another, Peter reached for his pawn first, moving it forward, "I get first move."

Felix nodded in accordance, hands tucked in his lap. He had trouble focusing on the board, shapes twisting in front of his eyes. He had to close them before he fainted.

"Well?" Peter said, "It's your turn."

"Ah," It was all Felix could manage, nodding dumbly before reaching for the pawn opposite to Peter's. _The Shadow grabbed his wrist, shattering the bones as he screamed into his face_. Felix's hand snapped backwards. He shook his head. Peter had to bore of him soon. More than anything, Felix wanted to return to his cave before the Shadow found out about his treason.

Peter looked irritated, a common expression on the Shadow whenever Felix didn't bend to every single one of his whims, even the ones in his mind, "Alright. No chess then," He reached forward, knocking Felix king piece down.

Felix expected Peter to leave but the boy remained, simply sitting in the dirt staring forward. He slouched against the tree behind him, the perfect image of a king reclined against a throne, "You know, I waited for you. You said you'd come back to me after everything was over."

That distant promise, Felix was surprised Peter still remembered.

"Waited seven years for you to return," Peter said, lazily rolling the rook in his hands, "Moved on afterwards. Thought you were dead, or that you'd forgotten about me."

At the last statement, Felix adamantly shook his head. He'd never forget Peter, the last person who had shown him kindness. Felix could still remember _Zoso the Dark One_. He knew it would have been a very different outcome if he had actually succeeded in finding Zoso.

"… _I'm sorry_ ," Felix whispered.

Peter snorted at the apology, "Again with the apologies. I should just do away with apologies on Neverland. Anyone who apologizes will be _punished_!" His voice was full of jest, mocking a king's declaration.

_Punished._

At that single word, Felix cringed and whimpered, crumpling to the dirt and covering his head, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm-" He slapped a hand over his mouth, remembering Peter's decree and its paradoxical implications. How could he amend himself to the Shadow if he was not allowed to apologize? He whined pathetically, his posture and voice reminiscent of a beaten dog.

When games and talk had failed, Peter tried something else. As Felix considered his options, a soft melody began to play. It startled him with intrigue and excitement. He hadn't realized he had gone so many years without hearing _music_. Even the softest, blandest tune sounded angelic to his deprived senses. When the air was safe and the music had soothed his hysteria, Felix lifted his head from his hands and spied the pan pipes in Peter's hands.

Felix narrowed his eyes, utterly entranced by the melody and unable to tear away. How long had it been since he last heard any sort of music? From the mountains, he could never hear the mermaids singing nor could he hear the birds in the morning. It had to be before Neverland, before this nightmare began, back home with Rufio and Farah. His father always loved bards, had them perform at least once a week in the courtyard. He could remember dragging Rufio into said courtyard to play tricks on the performing bards.

Before Felix was even aware, _he was smiling_. He leaned forward on his hands, getting closer and closer to Peter trying to catch as much of his song as he could. His eyes flickered upwards for just a moment, locking onto Peter's warm, welcome gaze. He _blushed_ , looking away shyly and finding words other than apologies on his tongue.

"It's lovely," He murmured, looking back at Peter with an utterly coy look.

Peter smiled back, one eyebrow quirked upward with amusement, "Glad you liked it."

"Can you play another?" Felix requested in a quiet whisper, patiently waiting for Pan's response before _stone-cold hands latched over his mouth and chest._

So utterly distraught, it was too late for Felix to react as the forest around him darkened like night and a deathly chill surged through his body. Peter didn't react so Felix assumed this was going on in his head, an illusion brought out by his demonic master. _The Shadow_ covered Felix from head to toe, materializing out of no where as he pressed himself against Felix's back and caged him in with his limbs.

" _Scream and I'll rip out your vocal chords,"_ The Shadow hissed into Felix's ear. Felix whined pathetically, clutching at the Shadow's hand as he begged forgiveness with his eyes, "Aren't you two having fun?" The Shadow asked in a jovial tone, his expression clearly a mocking representation of Peter's joy.

The Shadow's hand lifted itself, stroking the side of Felix's face in an affectionate manner.

"Thought I'd take Felix out for a walk," Peter said, reclining backwards in the dirt, "He's not much of a chess player."

"My silly Felix?" The Shadow said, voice too dark for his seemingly playful words, "He doesn't like playing chess. Isn't that right?" Felix nodded back fervently, the crooked smile on his face faltering, "My _lover_ is very picky. Only few things can make him happy."

Peter tilted his head back and Felix could not read his expression, "Did I bore you, Felix?"

Talons digging into his chest, the Shadow clutching him so tight that he thought his rib cage would break, Felix had no choice but to nod.

"Ah, I see," Peter said, voice cool and calm.

The Shadow smirked in his direction, running his palm in circles over Felix's chest, "This look doesn't suit you," His talons scratched at his tunic, purposely fraying the fabric with each stroke. Felix twitched when black threads suddenly sprouted from the Shadow's hands, dyeing every bit of his clothes _pitch black_ , "Much better."

The scent of smoke, darkness, and poison wafting from his clothes was humiliating. The Shadow was marking him as his own in front of Peter. Felix swallowed the dryness in his throat, no longer able to meet Peter's eyes.

"Did you bring those pipes with you?" The Shadow asked, sitting in the dirt and pulling Felix between his legs. He lay Felix's head on his chest, caging him in with his knees on either side and his arms splayed on Felix's chest.

Peter smiled back, completely unperturbed by his intimacy with Felix, "Made them myself. Just conjured it up with magic. Are there no instruments or birds in Neverland? Felix looks as if he hasn't heard music in forever."

Immediately, Felix could feel the Shadow stiffening.

"Of course there are birds," The Shadow replied, smiling playing on his lips as he mimicked Peter's coyness, "Felix is just so scared of going out on his own. By the time I can take him out, the birds have finished singing."

Peter snickered and Felix couldn't tell if he was sarcastic or sincere, "What ever could you be so busy with? Surely you could spare ten minutes when the sun comes out," The Shadow opened his mouth to reply but Peter's gaze met Felix's instead, "Felix. What is he busy with?"

 _Kidnapping children, stealing souls, terrorizing the inhabitants of Neverland, fucking him into the dirt._ Felix's lip quivered as he fought to blurt out the truth. He had no idea what else the Shadow did for entertainment or sustenance but he doubt it was any cleaner than everything else he did, "H-He… um…"

" _Felix doesn't know anything_ ," The Shadow snapped suddenly, talons digging into Felix's chest to silence him. He paused, the glow in his eyes dimming as he collected his composure, "What I mean to say… I don't involve Felix in my excursions. He's got enough to worry about in his _pretty little head_. My business is not his burden."

Anyone would have been fooled by the perfect poker face Peter held up. His smile was wide, kind, and through the Shadow's eyes, complete bullshit, "If you're such a busy worker, perhaps you should leave Felix with me so I can keep him entertained. Wouldn't want him rotting away in _your_ room."

The Shadow's eye twitched, light flickering like a candle, "I wouldn't want to burden you with my needy, _whiny_ lover-"

"Nonsense! I've got nothing else to do. I need the entertainment," Peter replied, leaning back on his hands with his legs crossed casually, "Perhaps I'll teach him how to play chess. Then he can pass that on to you."

"Perhaps if you want a lover like mine so badly, you should go find one," The Shadow replied, the tone of his voice deepening with every twitch of Peter's arrogant face. His arms tightened around Felix's body, the pressure nearly bruising his ribs, "Felix doesn't want your company or anyone else's company. _Just mine._ "

Peter merely laughed at his words, " _Find a lover?_ I'd rather my lovers come to me on their own."

Talons grew on the Shadow's hands. His perpetually cold body somehow cooling, chilling to the touch like icy steel. Felix felt like he was trapped in a block of ice, winter's bite burning where the Shadow lay his hands. This would be nothing compared to what the Shadow would do to him _tonight_. Felix's eyes snapped upward, taking a deep breath.

"I did come to him on my own."

The chill stopped; Peter's brows raised.

Felix couldn't meet Peter's eyes so he kept them on his collar. He could barely speak, stuttering at every other word but forcing himself to carry on, "I-I had a friend. He was dying… s-so I came to the Shadow. And he saved him. So I stayed with him because I…" The chill completely died down. Felix's skin stopped smarting, " _I love him_."

Victory was _his_. The Shadow smirked, pressing a kiss to Felix's temple and propping the boy up so he could squeeze his face into Felix's shoulder, "See?"

The smile was gone from Peter's face. Felix shut his eyes tightly. _I'm sorry_ , he whispered in his mind begging that Peter could see through his half-truth. He didn't want this. He really didn’t.

"What's your happiest moment on Neverland?"

Felix's eyes opened, peering able to Peter at the seemingly innocent question, "What?"

The Shadow's grin was wide, "The first month he was-"

" _Not you_ ," Peter snapped, _growled_ , anger sharp and sudden and fading away as fast as it came when he turned back to Felix, "What is the best thing the Shadow has done for you?"

 _Drowning him in the sea for yawning. Binding him to scalding rocks and letting the sun cook him for daring to shut his eyes during sex. The countless, countless beatings that preceded and followed rape._ Searching through his memories to try and recollect _one good moment_ was exhausting and painful. Felix knew it reflected on his face but he couldn't stop himself.

"Stop," Peter said. Felix's memories halted on command, "I've an easier question. _What's the Shadow's name?_ "

"I have no name," The Shadow snapped quickly before Peter could interrupt.

Peter smirked, appearing as if he had gained the upper hand, "Certainly he must've called you something this whole time. He's spent twenty years on this island and he's never given you a name?"

"Um…" Felix whimpered, breath hitching as the Shadow tightened his grip around Felix's chest, "I-I don't…" A pet name, a nickname like Neverland, _a lie_ , Felix needed something to satisfy both Pan and the Shadow but found himself unable to think. _The Shadow was going to punish him_ , "Why are you doing this?" A searing pain filled his chest. The Shadow's fingers were twitching beneath his flesh, "My love!"

The Shadow and Pan tilted their heads, confused by Felix's sudden declaration.

"M-My love," Felix gasped out, eyes shut tight as he endured the searing hot pain seeping through his ribs, "I call him 'my love'," He confirmed, releasing a breath when he felt the Shadow's fingers slip out of him.

Neither party could be gauged. Peter had a stoic expression on his face with storm clouds stirring behind his eyes. The Shadow was grinning from ear-to-ear, pulling Felix into a tighter embrace as he pressed their cheeks together.

" _My love_ ," The Shadow crooned, nuzzling Felix's cheek, "Hear that?" He nipped on Felix's ear, "Perhaps you should considering finding a lover for yourself. _This one_ belongs to me."

Felix yelped as he was suddenly hoisted off the ground by his neck, one arm coiled tightly around it and nearly choking out his breath. The Shadow lifted them both off the ground, dangling Felix as his thinly veiled spite surfacing, " _I know what you're trying to do_ ," He hissed venomously, "You can't deceive my lover or lure him away. He knows who he belongs to."

Flinching, Felix could barely keep his eyes open when the Shadow snapped its gaze towards him, eyes burning into him like the sun. He leaned in involuntarily, letting the Shadow claim his willing lips in a kiss. The tongue in his mouth tasted like smoke and poison, deluding him into reciprocating the forced affection, suffocating him as the only light in his miserable life diminished.

_I don't want this._

Felix gripped into the Shadow's hair, gripping into inky locks as he pulled their bodies together. The Shadow's arms were around his upper torso, on around his waist to support his weight and the other behind his neck to hold his head close.

_He tastes like suffering. I'm suffering._

Felix's lip split under the Shadow's insistent movements yet he couldn't back away, ignoring the ache in his lip and the heated blood dripping down his chin. He moved on his own, smearing blood over the Shadow's cheek as he slid down to nibble on his pale neck, like kissing a marble slab.

_Save me. Please save me. Please. Please…_

A cruel snicker slipped from the creature's lips as he tilted his head back, giving Felix better access to his neck. He hummed appreciatively, hand gliding over Felix's lower back affectionately, "Do you see?" He spoke to Pan, "You can't have him because he doesn't want-"

Under his lips, the Shadow's chilled skin became fog for just a second. Felix _breathed him in_ and nearly choked on peppery, pungent taste. He looked up at the Shadow, seeing utter helplessness in his eyes before Felix peered over to Pan and saw nothing but _hatred_ in his expression. Brows furrowed, eyes steely and still, serene rage pooling in them. With _just a look_ , the Shadow was _terrified._

A flinch of Peter's cheek, a sharp breeze whipping through Neverland, Felix tumbled to the dirt and heard the Shadow _cry out_ , a gaping hole of inky shadows in the torso of his flesh body. Felix had never seen the creature like this, forever had the Shadow always been his omnipotent, invincible overlord and now, Peter Pan had blown a hole into its chest.

Was it over?

Felix gasped at the sight, frozen where he sat. Twenty years of servitude had finally come to an end. A smile cracked on his face, tears nearly falling from his eyes as he stood up from the dirt, looked to Pan, and was promptly _swallowed up by darkness._

"No!" Felix cried out, stumbling forward in the pitch black fog before collapsing in an equally dark cave. Where was he? Where had the Shadow taken him? The cave was too dark, too dank to be his home. He couldn't even feel the warmth of the sun through the rocks, couldn't sense Peter's presence on the island at all.

_Peter…_

It was too late by the time he realized what he had done. He slapped both hands over his mouth, scrambling around in the darkness until he met a pair of eyes made of light, "I didn't want to leave my cave," Felix screamed in the darkness. He couldn't make out the Shadow, just glints of light where his eyes should be, "He took me out! I was so sc-" A hand swiped him across the face sending him sprawling into the stone. His nose was bleeding; his whole face was burning.

"You lying _whore_."

A kick to Felix's stomach sent him tumbling into the stone, colliding with a wall of rock as a sharp pain lanced through chest and refused to subside. Felix clutched at his side hoping to alleviate the pain with pressure only for his wrist to be grabbed and twisted upward.

Felix struggled weakly, clutching at the Shadow's gripping hand, " _Please_. I'm sorry! I'm sorry. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry_ ," He whimpered over and over, confused at first when the Shadow simply held onto his forearm with both hands like a little boy _snapping a twig in his hands_. When the pieces fell together, Felix's heart stopped and his struggling became frantic, "No, no, no, NO!" The pain was sharp, unbearable, and Felix cut himself off with a scream that echoed in their stony chamber and deafened him.

The Shadow took hold of his other arm. Felix thrashed and screamed regardless of the agony in his ribs and his arm. Hissing, the Shadow struck Felix across the face and crushed his broken arm into the floor. Felix couldn't stay quiet even though he knew the Shadow wanted his silence. He wailed like a pig getting butchered alive. The Shadow took his time punishing this limb, taking each _finger_ and bending it backwards till the bone gave way with a chunky _SNAP_ and a whining scream following after.

" _Please… please…no, no, no, no!_ " Felix whimpered, getting frantic each time he felt that numb pressure of his joints being bent far beyond its limit. His voice was high with each scream, throat hoarse by the time the Shadow crippled his pinky finger and tossed his mangled hand to the ground.

" _Do you want to leave me_?" The Shadow spoke. The ethereal tone of his voice alerted Felix that the Shadow had dropped his physical form, " _Do you still love me?_ "

There was only one answer. Felix nodded his head, weathering through the pain as he propped himself up against the stone wall without using his mangled limbs, "My love…" He was unable to find any other words.

" _My love_ ," The Shadow repeated, kneeling down and stroking Felix's face, " _My eternal love._ "

Felix had felt this softness before, remembered the confusion it brought upon him and the torture that it foreshadowed. He kept his mouth shut, jaw tight, and when the Shadow took him by the throat and punched him in the face, Felix was not surprised. He hacked out a cough, a spot of blood flying from his lips.

"Why are you-" Another punch, Felix dropped his head, "Stop. I'm begging you. _My love_ , please…"

Ethereal fingers suddenly shifting into flesh shoved themselves down his throat. Felix gagged and thrashed, nearly vomiting as he felt the Shadow's _knuckles_ in the back of his throat. Fingernails, _talons_ , dragged themselves up Felix's tongue, taking hold of the slick appendage tightly and _tugging_. Felix's pointless pleading was reduced to pathetic, slobbery squeals.

The Shadow was unmoved, eyes still as he pulled at Felix's tongue like it was a flower waiting to be plucked, "You lied to me. You want to leave me," He gave one firm tug and Felix screamed, feeling the muscle _barely tear_ , "And after all the _love_ and attention I give you. Is this not what you wanted? Rufio's life in exchange for love?"

 _Rufio_ , the name was almost foreign to him. He nodded to the Shadow, hoping that was the answer he wanted only for the Shadow to yank at his tongue once more.

"You are beautiful like this," The Shadow said, disguising his moan with a sigh, "I should rip off all your limbs. Then you'll have no where to go and nothing to do but _please me_ with your body."

The talons drew blood from Felix's tongue, another source of pain on his already throbbing body. Felix shut his eyes, realizing that nothing would placate the Shadow. He just had to weather through this, endure whatever the Shadow had planned and hope he was still sane at the end. _Sane enough for Peter to save him._ The thought nearly gave him hope before the Shadow released his tongue and grabbed onto his head instead.

Felix forced his eyes open, forced himself to look into the voids of light which comprised the Shadow's eyes. His teeth were chattering in fear, his whole body numbed by pain as the Shadow held him close and spoke, "I do so enjoy your pretty legs. But if you push me any further, I _will_ tear them off. Understand?" Felix nodded dumbly, restraining himself when the Shadow breathed in the air from Felix's mouth, "Pretty little thing. Is it because I don't show you enough love? Is that why you want to run away?" He didn't wait for an answer, taking hold of Felix's clothes and ripping them to shreds, "Let me fix that."

In twenty years of hardship, torture, sexual slavery, the Shadow had never done this to him before. Talons out, nostrils flared, snarling with lust with every brutal snap of his hips, the demonic creature was _fucking his shadow_. Felix was crumpled on the ground, drooling and immobile as his own shadow was perched above him on its hands and knees. With each thrust, each shambling thrust, Felix's Shadow howled and thrashed, bursts of light from its eyes like firecrackers illuminating the dank cave.

Every nerve of his body was on fire except for the soles of his feet where Felix's shadow remained attached. His broken arm, his broken fingers, nose, ribs, all of that pain was irrelevant compared to the agony that came with his cruel master raping his shadow, _his life force_. An unbearable mix of pleasure and pain dissolved every memory, every thought, overloading every single fibre of his body.

Unable to move, unable to fight, robbed of everything that made him human, eyes glazed over and hollow like a corpse, Felix could do nothing more than _take it_.

His demonic master took his time, hours, _days_ , Felix had no way to gauge how much time had passed other than the dryness of his throat. Hips shuddering, eyes flickering shut, the Shadow quickened his pace before coming into Felix's shadow with a groan, claiming the deepest part of his soul for himself. _It was finally over._

Mercy coming far too late, the Shadow released Felix's own shadow and let it fuse back into his body. Mobility returning to him, Felix threw his head back with a relieved gasp before curling up on his side, his body unable to stop trembling. He whimpered uncontrollably, unable to form any words in his mouth as he sobbed dryly into the dirt. He screamed his throat raw when the Shadow lay over him sweetly, the kisses to his neck feeling like stab wounds.

The Shadow prattled on about 'necessary punishments' and 'true love' but Felix didn't care, every sense overloaded and shutting down before he eventually faded off to the Shadow's hands gently stroking his body.

 

Time was an illusion. Without the light of the sun or the hunger in his stomach, Felix was trapped in a timeless state. The only thing that he could use to gauge the time was his heartbeat and in his delirium, he was starting to wonder if he was just imagining it. No one could survive without their shadow yet again and again _and again_ , his sadistic master ripped it from his body just enough for him to live, impaling him with unbearable agony each time. And with each and every time, the Shadow would heal up all his injuries so he'd be ready and fresh the next time. Felix was never sure what was worse: The pain or the realization that this would happen all over again.

Had he the humour for it, he would've laughed at how he once mocked his sister for being afraid of the night. Felix grew to hate the darkness, _despise it._ Like the blindfold he was forced to wear but maddening how his eyes would be open but nothing could be seen. In his fits of madness, Felix would rant and screaming into his dank, lightless cavern as if that would somehow scare the shadows away. He beat the walls he could not see till his fists were bloodied and when the rage passed, Felix wailed and scratched into the stone till his fingernails scraped off. He cracked his skull against the stone once, somehow deluding himself into thinking that the darkness was just an illusion in his head.

And with each and every time, the Shadow would heal up all his injuries so he'd be ready and fresh the next time.

Felix whimpered as the Shadow kneeled before him and _bound his hands together_. He forced him to clasp his hands, fingers woven in-between each other as the Shadow wrapped them tightly in a netting of cotton string. Felix wanted to sob, hadn't enough been taken from him?

"Don't give me that look," The Shadow hissed suddenly. His eyes were the only thing Felix found pleasant about the creature; they were the only source of light he had ever seen within his prison, casting white light into the stones and revealing their reddish hue, "I warned you about scratching at the walls and since you can't listen to reason, I had to do this. _You made me_."

_If I wasn't trapped in here, if you weren't a tyrant, if you would just let me see the sun…_

Felix nodded complacently, dropping his head and shutting his eyes.

A satisfied huff came from the Shadow like a strict keeper finally breaking in a rowdy horse. He took Felix by the shoulder and threw him into the stones, stepping onto the small of his back to keep him down before sliding both hands into his back. Felix threw his head back involuntarily, a scream dying in his throat as he felt cold hands reach into his very being.

"W-w…"

The Shadow released suddenly and Felix immediately regret his actions, "What was that?"

 _Nothing_ was no longer sufficient. On the contrary, dismissive responses angered the Shadow even more. Felix swallowed, wetting his lips as he spoke with a quiet voice, "Why can't you take me like you used to?" He saw the light of the Shadow's eyes flicker briefly from where he lay on his stomach, "Why do you always take my shadow?" Felix flinched when the Shadow rolled him onto his back. He lifted his bound hands above his head voluntarily, eyes connected to the Shadow's even as the light blinded him. _Maintain eye contact. Don't hide behind your hands. Spread your legs. Smile when the Shadow has the courtesy to ask you how it went._

The Shadow hadn't spoken yet which terrified Felix. Ever since he absorbed Malcolm, the Shadow had taken on the boy's silver tongue. He climbed over Felix like a cat, tilting his head as he examined Felix's face thoughtfully, "It's because I am a shadow."

Felix didn't understand. He kept their eyes locked even as the Shadow walked his fingers up Felix's chest in a teasingly slow manner.

From the Shadow's smirk, it seemed like he was expecting Felix's confusion, "It feels better when I _fuck your shadow_ ," He knead at Felix's chest lightly, ignoring how the boy tensed in pain each time the Shadow's fingers dipped past his flesh and into his shadow, "I know you feel it. So deep inside of you that you can't distinguish myself from you. Pointless memories and worthless thoughts burned away by ecstasy. Filling you up right to the brim, claiming the deepest, darkest part of you that _Peter Pan_ will never have," His fingers finally sunk fully into Felix's chest, ripping the Shadow slowly from his chest as Felix's mouth snapped open in a wordless screaming, "I know your human body can't take it. I was being kind to you before. _You took advantage of my kindness_ , _"_ He ripped half of Felix's shadow out with one sharp tug, loosening his belt as he proceeded to mount Felix's shadow from the front _on top of Felix_ , "When you're a good boy again, I'll stop fucking your shadow and go back to your body."

Being forced to stare into the Shadow's eyes and _watch his own shadow get raped_ was more than Felix could bear and the Shadow knew it. From that day onward, the Shadow never took Felix on his stomach again and forced him to watch his own shadow sob moon white tears, screech, and struggle.

Felix fractured his skull, being held up against the stone walls, sandwiching his own shadow against his master while his body blazed with agony. His own shadow threw its head back as the Shadow came and smacked Felix's head backwards with crippling force. The resounding crack against his skull and the blackness edging on his vision was the only thing that alerted Felix of what happened. Everything else was a melting blur.

When Felix finally came to, he was lying on the ground with his head in the Shadow's lap breathing in the sweat and smoke that wafted from the creature's form. The creature was stroking his hair, humming absently as he examined where the injury once was.

"Feeling better?" The Shadow asked, pleased when Felix smiled back in response, "Accident, right? Your shadow is getting harder and harder to control. I think he's getting _scared._ Are you scared of me, my love?"

"Never scared. I love you."

Hands glided over Felix's cheek, toying with his scar, "I'm starting to bore from this. I've taken your shadow more times than I can count and it's starting to get tedious," _Lies_ , _blatant lies_. The Shadow had kept up his cruel games to Felix's body for decades. There was no way he was bored of this, "But I don't know if I can go back to taking your body anymore. I don't want to reward bad behaviour."

Felix lifted his head, rolling onto his side so he could kiss the Shadow's thigh. He carefully lifted his eyes, feeling the Shadow ignite with lust as he carefully balanced innocence and lust within his gaze.

"Are you going to be a good boy?" The Shadow muttered in a husky voice, "Prove it to me."

At his words, Felix immediately rolled onto his stomach and sucked the creature off.

When the Shadow finally stopped ravaging his own shadow, Felix was surprised by the _joy_ that overcame him. Broken bones, lacerations, nothing could ever be worse than having his shadow tormented in front of him. He lay in the Shadow's lap, licking at his fingers and pressing soft kisses on his knuckles like a loving pet.

"That wretched boy is making a mess of my island," The Shadow grumbled, another one of his daily rants about Pan, "Did you know he allied with the mermaids? Took me decades to get those wenches in line and now he's giving them goods for free. Or the dryads, running rampant around the island."

Felix said nothing, did nothing, simply humming absently while the Shadow played with his hair.

"Did you know he was a grown man when he made a contract?" The Shadow asked, "Greying hair, mangy beard, beady eyes, he looked like a vagrant. Smelled like one too. He brought his _son_ with him," The Shadow caught Felix's flinch. His fingers immediately stilled on his cheek, "Ah yes, that wispy young lad. Thought I would've contracted him and then tortured his father to death for you. Unfortunately, the boy had no imagination," He tilted Felix's chin to face him, "Going to be honest with you. I've never contracted with anyone who had a child."

 _Malcolm forgot about you and found someone else._ Felix knew this was what the Shadow was hammering in. The sting of heartbreak was lost in the phantom ache of his body. He had already lost everything to Rufio, had his spirit and mind beaten out of him. He barely knew Malcolm for more than a week. There was no way Malcolm's assumed betrayal could've hurt him anymore.

Yet, Felix felt like his world had fallen apart all over again.

His breath was shallow. He knew it came out like a whine. He flexed his fingers against the Shadow's clothes, eyes blurring and threatening to moisten with tears, "Don't care," Felix whispered quickly, muffling his sorrow. He climbed up the Shadow's body and nuzzled his neck, eyes hollow and unwavering, "I love you."

 

Faithful to his word, Felix's good behaviour was rewarded.

The sunlight was blinding. For a good ten minutes, Felix was unable to see anything but stark white light. He kept his head down and eyes shut, waiting for his body to naturally adjust to the light. In his concentration, he hadn't noticed the Shadow coming up behind him and draping a cloak around his shoulders. Felix flinched, fearing the worst and freezing in place.

"Wouldn't want anyone to see your beautiful body," The Shadow spoke. The Shadow's flesh form was more terrifying in the light when Felix could make out his expression: _Jealousy and possessiveness_ even when Felix was completely his, "Let me see a smile."

A smile? Felix struggled to make his lips turn upward. The Shadow's souring mood prompted him to try harder but when he could've force the smile, the Shadow's fingers came up and pressed the corner of his lips upward.

"Just like that," The Shadow commanded, "Can you do it?" The Shadow lifted his fingers, smirking when Felix was able to copy exactly where the corners of his lips once were, " _Lovely_ ," He pondered for a moment, tilting his head as he examined Felix's empty smile, "Do you love me?"

"Always," Felix whispered, the response hard-wired into his brain.

The Shadow was too pleased at the response, "Very good, _Felix_ ," His name sounded like _poison_ on his tongue, "Come along now," He cooed, taking Felix's hand and strolling along a dirt path.

Without shoes, Felix could barely move faster than a slow creep. The Shadow wasn't angered. To his surprise, he kindly matched Felix's pace. Their hands remained linked together; to the unknowing bystander, the two of them could've been mistaken for a _couple_.

With every rustle in the bushes, every whistle in the breeze, the Shadow would perk up with a maddening smile. _This was another stupid game_. The creature was so desperate to show off his trophy and rub it into Pan's face. What the Shadow didn't realize was the _solace_ it gave Felix. Despite the Shadow's claims, Pan must've still cared enough for him to react to the Shadow's petty games.

Felix felt his chest lift, a heaviness shifting inside him.

He didn't fight when the Shadow took him against the pixie dust trees. The Shadow didn't use his teeth or his talons, taking him tenderly to make a show of him. Felix wrapped his legs around his captor, threw his head back in a heady moan, threading his fingers through the Shadow's tar-coloured locks. He shuddered as he came, swearing that he saw Pan's eyes staring at him through the leaves, eyes dilated with lust.

"Thought Pan would show up for sure," The Shadow hummed, eyes scanning the fields and finding no one, "Shame. Perhaps I'll take you inside his tree house."

If it meant Felix could be in the sunlight just a bit longer, he would gladly oblige.

The Shadow continued his game, rejuvenating Felix with magic before taking him tenderly basked under the sun. Despite his loving gestures and soft words, Felix was always on a leash, the Shadow's marble-cold fingers always seeping into his flesh somewhere holding Felix's shadow in place. Pan never showed but Felix knew he was there. Not watching for Felix's sake but simply _there_ , waiting.

"Has to be now, has to be now, _has to be now_ ," The Shadow muttered under his breath.

Felix was back in his pitch black cavern, tucked into a ball as the Shadow raved madly, pacing back and forth as his eyes flickered like a wild thunderstorm. Felix didn't dare ask him what had happened. He was unable to pick apart the odd speech the Shadow spoke with, no doubt countless intellects absorbed by the island's victims.

"Can't let him _win_ ," The Shadow snarled suddenly, striking the cavern wall hard enough to crack it.

Felix flinched and squealed but forced himself still. He looked up, eyes locked onto the light emitting from the Shadow's facial features, "My love?" He flinched again when the Shadow suddenly _draped himself around him_. It seemed like desperation, a desire for Felix's comfort. Nothing had slipped beneath his skin yet, "What's wrong?"

"He's going to find you," The Shadow mumbled into Felix's neck. He held the boy tight against his body, smearing kisses all over his neck like a lover, "He's going to take you away and I can't have that. I _just_ can't. _I love you_. I need you. Not him, never him."

Felix hated when the Shadow was kind to him. It warped the image of his domineering master and threatened to blur the lines between the Shadow's kindness and his cruelty.

"Tell me you love me."

The talons were growing on his fingers but Felix could do nothing about it.

"I love you."

"Good, good," The Shadow lifted from Felix's embrace, resting their forehead together, "You're a good boy who will always listen to me, right?" Felix obliged mindlessly, too broken to fight, "Good… _good_ ," His voice lowered into a hiss as he pressed his lips forward, working Felix's mouth open before _a snake slithered down Felix's throat._

Felix gagged and thrashed but was unable to move, lips locked with the Shadow's as something dark, heavy, and poisonous slithered down his throat and coiled itself between Felix's ribs. He coughed violently, his throat feeling swollen and bloody yet unblocked. He could feel weight in his lungs, suffocating him by prevent the organ from moving properly. He tore away from the Shadow when he let go, clawing at his chest and hacking nothing but spit and dust onto the floor. On his hands and knees, he peered up at the Shadow and pleaded with his eyes: What did he do to deserve this?

"Don't fret," The Shadow murmured, crouching as he stroked Felix's hair, "It's just a shadow, a snake's shadow to be specific, so don't look so panicked. I'm not going to kill you," His words gave Felix no solace but Felix forced his expression to reflect it, "Because Felix is a good boy, he won't tell Pan about our special little friend inside you," Felix nearly threw up when he felt the _thing_ rattling inside of him, "When he _kisses you_ , that snake will enter Pan's body and bind his magic. That should be enough for me to kill him. When Pan comes for you, don't tell him, alright?"

A trap for Pan, death by a kiss, Felix feared that the creature inside of him could read his traitorous thoughts. Pan wouldn't kiss him. Pan knew better, didn't he? Felix swallowed but was unable to clear the bitter taste from the back of his tongue, "Okay."

The rescue was sudden and without fanfare. Felix was merely dozing off in the cave. The Shadow had left him alone for at least a couple days, luring Pan with his absence. There was little else to do other than napping or throwing a hysterical fit. He had to cherish his time without the Shadow around. It was the only time he could ever find any sort of peace.

"There you are."

Just as the Shadow said, Pan had located his cavern. He was unbothered by the stench of sex and sweat wafting through the stagnant air of the cave. Felix had grown so accustomed to that smell, he began having a hard time taking in fresh air. Felix kept his eyes shut as he lay on his side, feigning sleep as he felt Pan's presence directly behind him.

He was naked, filthy, curled up on a bed of dried leaves. Not even the insects wanted to come near him. With Pan in his presence, Felix suddenly realized how degraded he was. He let out a shuddering sigh, limbs turning heavy and weak as Pan rolled him over to examine his face. A second later, Felix was lifted from the ground, one arm behind his shoulders and the other under his knees.

"N-No…"

"Shh, we're leaving this place," Peter hushed him, genuinely surprised when Felix began to struggle in his arms.

"No. No. No…no, no!" Felix choked out, too afraid to touch Pan with his hands and dirty him with sweat and sex, "Don't. Please don't. _He'll come back._ "

Pan didn't let go. Pan wasn't repulsed by his tainted body, "That's exactly why we have to leave."

A fine green smoke surrounded them not unlike the smoke the Shadow had first used to bring him to his new cell. When the smoke cleared, Felix found himself in another cave, one bright lit with a brazier in the middle and the setting sun just visible at the exit.

"It won't find you here," Peter explained, still carrying Felix despite all of the stains on his body visible in the light. He lowered Felix and immediately frowned when the boy scuttled away backwards into the darkest corner of the cave, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Felix's lungs became heavy. A harsh rumble sounded in his lungs, "I-I can't," He was shaking his head, clutching at his hair. His breath came out as _a hiss_ , "I want to go back. _I have to_."

"The brazier's filled with cedar. Cedar wood drives off nightmares. It'll keep him at bay."

"You don't understand!" Felix blurted out, whole body trembling as his voice cracked, " _Please_. He'll hurt me. You don't understand. _You just don't_ ," His eyes glazed over. He leaned against the stony walls, scratching at it absently as he continued to mutter to himself.

Pan wasn't deterred. He simply sat down by the brazier and watched Felix babble with madness.

 _Twenty years, probably more_. Felix begged him for help when he was just a child. Malcolm grew up, had a child of his own, lost his wife, and Felix was still enslaved. He lifted a hand, flicking his fingers forward to cleanse Felix's body.

Gasping, Felix would've felt refreshed and calm as the grime was removed from his body if not for the thrashing in his chest, his entire rib cage resonating like a bell. He curled up even more, squeezing himself into the stone and biting down on his tongue. Without the filth the Shadow bestowed upon him, Felix felt more exposed than ever.

Peter clicked his tongue, disappointed at Felix's reaction, "At least be grateful when I save your life," No reply came. Felix simply faded out once more. Peter gave an aggravated sigh, shifting as if he were about leave only to settle back down, "No. I shouldn't have said that. I'm not making light of what happened to you. I promise."

What has happened to him? His memories are a blur without the Shadow around reminding him who he was born to be, _what_ he was born to be, "Rufio…" Peter perked up at the name, " _Just wanted to save him_ ," He sobbed dryly, twenty years under the Shadow's rule draining his tears, "He was supposed-" Felix shook his head, unable to continue.

_He was supposed to rescue me._

Rufio was supposed to piece together what had happened and come for him. He had left his notes behind, mad ravings about a demon shadow who haunted the dreams of children, but Rufio should've been able to decipher them. He should have come for him like the prince saving his true love from a dragon. Except in this version, the dragon won, the prince found another princess and the dragon tore his false lover to shreds. Felix shut his eyes and covered his face, unable to press forward. He didn't want to recount the greatest regret of his entire life.

"He's a joke."

Felix's eyes fell open, confused.

"Doesn't deserve you. He's the one missing out," Pan continued, "I'll take his place. I'll save you."

" _I don't believe you_ ," Felix choked out, "He'll take me back. He always does."

Pan looked _irritated_ in the same way the Shadow looked whenever Felix didn't please him properly, "Trust me. _Believe in me_ and I swear I will save you."

Felix couldn't stop himself from shaking his head, "Why?" The mermaids never helped him unless they got something out of it. Neither did the dryads that crept up on the Shadow fucking him in the thick of the forest. He gave his everything for Rufio's health and what did he get back in return?

There was a sweet softness to Peter's eyes, kindness unlike anything Felix had ever seen. He heard the rumours from the mermaid, heard the Shadow ranting about Pan 'wrecking' his island. The look in Peter's eyes made all those rumours seem fabricated.

Peter looked away, staring into the fire absently. Felix could've sworn there was blush on his face, "I didn't go back to Neverland. I did exactly as you said. I stopped using those words and I stopped running off into a fantasy world. _I dreamt of you instead_ ," Peter stood when Felix looked his way, aware that eye contact made the boy nervous, "Every night, you'd be in my dreams and all I could think about the next morning was you. How badly I wanted to hear your voice again, to _hold you_. I wanted you to _be mine_."

Felix blinked, the warmth of the brazier finally reaching him.

"I waited for you at the tree. Said I'd wait until the tree had completely rotted into the dirt," Peter added, flickering flames reflecting in his eyes, "But you never came back and now I know why."

Felix wanted to apologize but found the words ill fitting.

"I'll save you, Felix. I'll take Neverland from the Shadow's control. I promise," Peter said, "I just need to know _how_."

How? Felix had no knowledge on how to defeat the Shadow. He'd tried countless times in the beginning, stabbing the creature with a shard of wood he had yanked out of the bed, strangling him, poisoning him with dreamshade, nothing ever seemed to work. His master had no weakness; a pet had no place to question it.

An earthy scent wafted past his nose and Felix almost missed it. _The brazier_ , blazing with fire and illuminating the room in golden light, warm and welcoming unlike the harsh white light of the Shadow's eyes. _Cedar_ , Pan mentioned _cedar keeping the Shadow at bay._

"The candle."

Peter turned to Felix, surprised at the steady tone his voice had taken.

"Before…this. I threatened the Shadow with a candle," Felix said. He remembered the Shadow backing off, destroying the candle the first chance he could, "I-It's an old folklore," Peter knelt to him, eyes filled with intrigue and genuine interest in something other than Felix's body, "Cedar. Seawater. And a closed container to protect the flame."

It was an old tradition Felix hadn't questioned. At night, for all the boys on their property including the servants, a candle of cedar and seawater would be burned beside their beds. A porcelain shell covered the candle, protecting it from being put out. As the legend went, if a demon came to take a boy away, they'd be sucked into the candle and wouldn't be free until the flame was put out hence the container to protect it till sunrise.

Peter didn't back off, staring into Felix's eyes and pleased that he was able to coax something positive from him, "Cedar was known to drive off nightmares. Perhaps _he_ is where the legend came from. Seawater, perhaps diluted squid ink to bind his magic? _Interesting_ ," He lifted his hand, pausing when Felix flinched and waiting for his trembling to still before continuing. A wave of magic came over Felix, a soft, woolen blanket materializing over his body.

Clothing was forbidden, the Shadow wanted nothing between himself and Felix's body, so Pan gave him a blanket instead. Felix swallowed weakly, pulling it over himself and pleased by the scent of fresh cedar woven into the threads, "Thank you."

Pan didn't back away and Felix didn't know why. He couldn't recognize the round, child-like expression Peter had on his face, how his lips were just parted, almost puckered as he stared at Felix longingly. Felix couldn't deny his attraction to Malcolm all those years ago but he figured it was due to him being the last human being he ever interacted with. Just one fated moment, the boy wandering the docks for no particular reason and the other by pure chance washing up to the same docks the boy was at, and here he was, coming to Neverland to rescue him.

Felix felt his cheeks heat up, "I used to think about you," Peter tilted his head, intrigued, "I don't even remember what my home used to look like, _what my mom looks like_ , and if I thought about Rufio, it would… You were the only thing I could hold on to. _Those two weeks,_ they were my last good memories."

"How could you stand it?" Peter asked, voice low and mature for his age. He shifted beside Felix, leaning against the stone so they could be sitting side-to-side.

"I didn't have a choice," Felix replied, tucking himself into the blanket, " _He wouldn't let me die._ I tried, you know? But he caught me every time."

A life so miserable and pitiful and without end, Felix figured he must've been in hell, being punished for foolishly loving someone who never loved him back. He had nothing to look forward to except for the day his mind would finally snap and the Shadow would be in a poor enough mood to kill him out of boredom instead of tearing away his limbs and turning him into a living sex doll.

And then Pan came along. Peter Pan shook Neverland to its core and stole Felix away from the Shadow. But why? Why save him from the Shadow? Why come back for him at all?

"Pan. I don't-" Felix started but couldn't continue, Peter's face suddenly right in front of his, eyes half-lidded and lips parted. Felix gasped, finding himself unable to break away as Peter drew him in with a lusty look. This was nothing like the Shadow. This was genuine, soft, and completely-

A snake _hissed inside of his chest_ and Felix jerked away violently, hands covering his lips.

Peter was stunned, _almost hurt_ , but he quickly gathered his composure, "Right. Too soon?"

"It's not that," Felix murmured quickly, suddenly reaching out for Peter, filled with confidence he thought he lost long ago, "I… _god_ , I wish I knew more about you. I wish I could've spent more time with you in your Thinking Tree," He took Peter's hands, loving how warm they felt, "I wish I met you _twenty-three_ years ago. I wish I… I wish I could kiss you."

Peter smiled faintly, "When you're ready."

Betrayal on his tongue, freedom at his fingertips, "I _am_ ready _,"_ He met Peter's eyes, submission and weakness prevalent in them, "The Shadow planned for this to happen. _He_ _cursed me_. If I kiss you, I'll rob you of your magic."

Eyes blazing for just a second, Pan spoke quietly without the slightest surprise, "I see."

The moment Pan took Felix's hands into his own, Felix broke away and _strangled him_. Using all of his body weight, Felix tackled Pan to the ground and wrapped his fingers tightly around his neck. Peter choked, sputtering as he struggled under Felix's grip, "W-What?"

This wasn't what Felix wanted. He wasn't the one doing this, his body moving on its own, "I-I-I'm not…!" He gasped, mouth locking shut and preventing his speech. He squealed pathetically, feeling something _slither through his body_ , violating every inch of his flesh and possessing his body like a demon.

A pulse of magic threw him into the cavern walls. The pain lanced up his spine at the impact and he could feel the demon inside of him rattle at the sudden jolt. Before he could even catch his breath, his body was already stumbling over the rocks, lunging for the brazier and knocking it over. The flame blazed for a moment as it struck the stone floor before the chill of the rocks cooled the cedar wood. It's scent was wafting away and the moment was so familiar, Felix was already cringing at what would come next.

" _No…_ " Felix gasped, "I didn't… _my love._ "

Peter leapt to his feet, charging at Felix as the final cedar branches cooled. He was rebuffed by a sudden _breeze_ in the dark like a black gust of wind. He slid backwards, glaring madly at the two glowing white eyes peering back at him.

" _Peter Pan_ ," The Shadow growled, floating beside Felix.

From where he was rooted on the ground, Felix paled when he saw what was in the Shadow's hand: _A mirror shard_. He'd never escaped the Shadow's eyes for a second and his betrayal was witnessed by him first hand.

Felix's eyes began to water, his heart pounded erratically, he couldn't stop himself from trembling, knees slipping against the stony floor, " _Please…_ my love, I didn't-" The Shadow's heartless _glare_ was more than enough to silence him, flinching violently as if the look gave him pain.

"He's not your lover. He never loved you," Peter declared, standing up tall and staring down the Shadow, "You're so wrapped up in your _lies_ , I'm starting to think you actually believe them."

The Shadow growled at him, guttural and feral. He took Felix by the hair and dragged him backwards, ignoring how Felix screamed and gripped at his wrists, "He's belonged to me for _decades_. You'll never have what _we_ have,"

Felix bit down on his lips, unable to choose who to placate. He stared at Pan, pleading for him to _do something_ , anything. Pan heard his silent plea and lunged forward.

"Ah, ah," The Shadow hummed, Felix suddenly tensing up and screaming uncontrollably as he felt something sharp like fangs carving up the inside of his chest, "Come any closer and I will kill him."

Words like magic, Pan stopped right where he was. His stoic expression flickered for just a second and he let the Shadow sense his _fear_. The creature's lips turned up at the feeling, shoving Felix's head forward, "You love him so much? _Then kiss him_ , like the brave little prince you are."

It was a death wish. The moment Pan lost his magic would be the moment the Shadow would rip his body to shreds. He stared into Felix's eyes, confused when he saw acceptance in them. _Let him kill me_. _Let this nightmare end. Promise you'll avenge me. That's all I need._

The Shadow swallowed, fearing that Pan would call his bluff. He gripped Felix's hair tightly, craning his neck up and forcing a strangled scream from the boy, "I'll always find another _lover_ ," The shadow residing in Felix's body twisted and thrashed sending shocks all throughout his body.

Felix cried out in pain and immediately regretted his decision.

"Alright. I'll do it."

The pain was suddenly irrelevant, Felix's eyes snapped open ,"No… no, no, no, no! Pan, no!"

"I seal my magic and you let him live," Peter declared, "That is the deal."

The Shadow smirked, loosening his grip in Felix's hair, "That is," He shoved Felix's head forward, nearly crushing it against Pan's face, " _Go on_. Kiss him."

Felix was trembling but unable to move, the snake within his body robbing him of movement, " _Pan_ , don't do this. He'll hurt you. He'll do to you exactly what he did to me."

Pan was unwavering as his expression softened, eyes falling half closed and he whispered against Felix's lips, "I won't fail. _I never fail_ ," He sealed their lips together, their _first kiss_ in twenty years and it was just as breathtaking as either of them imagined. For just a brief moment, Felix was able to _forget_ these past years enslaved to the Shadow and remember only Peter, only _Malcolm_ , who fell in love at first sight and continued to love him against all odds.

The pleasure was short and was quickly followed by _darkness_. Felix gagged, feeling something ice cold and poisonous slithering up his throat, choking out his breath as it pushed past his lips and entered Pan's mouth. Pan gagged but didn't pull away, thrashing lightly as he fought the urge to tear away and heave. With the snake came _the poison_ , seeping into Peter's flesh and numbing every part of his body. Peter finally jerked away, collapsing on the ground as he struggled not to _writhe_.

Beyond dreamshade, beyond the most poisonous venom he'd read about in books, this was a potion so potent, a single drop in a lake could slay an entire lakeside community. The Shadow watched with utter fascination as Pan growled in pain, gritting his teeth so hard that they almost cracked. It took all of Peter's magic to endure the horrible pain of a _toxic shadow_ , a venom that infected the soul itself and could taint every single piece of flesh.

"How does it feel?" The Shadow hummed, dropping Felix into the dirt as he circled around Pan's crippled form. He kicked Pan in the stomach, watching the boy sail through the air and land in a pile of burning cedar, "Filled with regret?"

"Pan!" Felix cried out as the Shadow cringed. He scrambled over to the boy limp on the ground only to be stopped by a hand _stabbing through his chest._ Felix choked on his own breath, staring up at the Shadow who kept a firm grip on his life force.

The Shadow was beyond placation, he took Felix by the throat and squeezed hard, "You traitorous _whore_. Is my kindness not enough? Would you prefer I treat you like a _slave_ instead?"

" _Fuck you_ ," Felix growled out, noticing Pan slowly rising from the ground, "Fuck you! And your fucking island!" He snarled, loud, boisterous, _covering up Pan's recovery,_ "You think this is kindness? You think raping me every single day and beating me for fun is kindness? We're _not_ lovers. You're _fucking_ delusional!"

The Shadow's tranquil fury was the worse but Felix refused to stop until Pan was safe.

"It was the only way for me to keep going. Every time you fucked me, I'd imagine it was _him_ , not you," Felix muttered, voice quick, "You thought I was screaming for you, didn't you? _As if I would ever_ ," He squealed when the Shadow gripped his head tighter, his other hand tightening inside of Felix's chest, "Do it. Tear off my arms and legs, rip out my eyes and teeth, because that's the only way you'll _ever_ stop me from running away from you!"

Talons punctured his life force, ethereal magic like blood flowing out from Felix's body. The Shadow jerked his hand forward, a writhing black mass trapped within his claws, "Silly Felix," The Shadow murmured sweetly, loving how Felix was in too much pain to scream, "I was being kind because I love you. But now that I know you don't feel the same," He kept pulling, the feeling of a shadow ripping from its roots too satisfying, "I'll take my pleasure from you any way I can."

Releasing Felix's neck, stabbing into his chest, the Shadow tore out Felix's whole shadow in one pull. Felix's body fell limp to the ground, heavy like a stone. Felix's severed shadow, on the other hand, screeched and struggled in his grasp, thrashing wildly like a beast without skin.

"Nowhere to go, _my love_ ," The Shadow whispered to the hysterical shadow in his grips. Pressing a kiss to its lips and using his magic to hold it in place. Without Pan to interfere, the Shadow's influence returned and he could once again control every shadow on the island.

With Felix taken care of, the Shadow gleefully turned to Pan only to be greeted with an _empty cave_. He whipped his head around, searching for the boy. He ran off and from the toppled brazier, _he took a handful of cedar with him._ The Shadow snarled, releasing Felix's shadow and commanding it back to Dark Hollow.

 

Peter tore through the forest. The poisonous shadow made his body numb and heavy but he had to keep moving. He couldn't let the Shadow win or _he'd never save Felix._ He didn't stick around long enough but he heard the terrible _riiip_ well enough, Felix's shadow hysterically screaming as Neverland's cruel master crushed them together.

_I've come too far to lose now._

Even without any magic at his disposal, Peter refused to back down. He stared at the cedar branches in his grasp, just one of three components he needed to trap the Shadow. _Seawater and a container for the candle_ , the beach was closer but the lagoon was more well-guarded. If the Shadow hunted him down at the beach, there'd be nowhere for him to hide.

Peter had mistook it for a storm. He realized his mistake when a pitch black being sliced through the branches above him and _tore at his body_. Peter snarled in pain, tumbling to the dirt as the shadow flew off _with a piece of his shadow_ in its hands.

Even now, Peter had enough magic to anchor his shadow to his body. The Shadow grumbled when his servant returned with a twitchy black chunk in its hands. No matter, he'd rip Pan to pieces if he had to for seducing his pet away from him, twenty years of conditioning wasted because of this unexpected factor. With Neverland's power returning to him, The Shadow felt no need to hold back or be sneaky. He raised one hand, the whole island itself howling as every shadow he had ever captured rose from Dark Hollow and blotted out the sun.

An artificial night fell upon the entire island. Pan felt the slightest bit of _fear_ in the pit of his stomach. It brought him back to his childhood, being shamelessly sold to a blacksmith and losing all control over his fate. _Never again_ , just like what he told himself when Felix showed up in his life and returned to him some fragment of control. He would never let anyone else take his power away ever again.

A shadow charged at him from the front; Pan raised his hand and tossed it back with a shockwave. Just a single burst of magic sent the flesh of his arm smarting with white-hot magic. Pan stumbled in the dirt, slowing down to clutch at his arm and screaming when a shadow came at him from behind and tore another piece of his life force from his back. Before he even had a chance to stabilize himself, another shadow came from the dirt and clawed at his ankles. Pan tore himself away, screaming when his ankle became numb and heavy. He threw his weight forward, tripping over a small hill and rolling right to the bottom.

The pain was nearly unbearable, shadows attacking him from inside and out. All he could think about was how Felix put up with this, how Felix endured this hellish torture for so long. With just that single thought, Pan eventually clawed himself onto the sand, the pinkish shale of the mermaid lagoon visible even in the dark.

 _Seawater, cedar, and some sort of containment_. He eyed the shells on the water's edge, figuring those would do fine as a container if he could crack a few holes into it. Pan yelped before he could scramble to his feet, two shadows grabbing onto his arms and restraining him before tackling him deep into the water. Pan struggled for a breath, unable to conjure any air using his magic while the poisonous shadow lingered in his body. The two shadows holding his limbs pulled him deeper and deeper into the water. The pressure was starting to affect his limbs, making them feel bloated and heavy, air pushed out from his lungs.

 _Not like this…_ Pan choked on the water, imagining that his lips were slowly turning blue as the shadows dragged him in deeper.

A sudden flash of light blinded Peter momentarily. For just a brief second, Peter thought his life had ended. Instead, the weight of his limbs lifted given him control once more. The shadows assaulting him were gone and in their place, a dark-eyed mermaid with an oyster and a vial of squid ink in her hands.

The creatures of Neverland were sick of The Shadow's rule. She placed both objects into Peter's hands as well as _a shard of mirror_. Without words, Peter knew what had to be done. He swam upward as quickly as he could while the mermaid dove deeper to avoid the onslaught. Emerging from the water, Peter threw himself onto the stone platforms of the mermaid lagoon and hacked out the heaviness in his lungs. He slicked his hair back, rubbing away the salt from his eyes as he retrieved the soaked piece of cedar from belt.

The sky howled with shadows, pitch black creatures circling around the mermaid lagoon like vultures. Each one came down and tore away at Peter relentlessly. His body was getting numb, his limbs weak, his mind muddled, but he couldn't stop, not when he was so close. He cracked open the oyster, stabbing in the splinter of cedar before breaking the tip of the vial with his teeth and dousing the splinter in squid ink.

It was complete. The object of his victory, "I win," He whispered, lifting the oyster upward and grinning as every shadow immediately recognized what was in his hands and backed away. Despite the horrible pain in every part of his body, Peter stood tall and smirked wildly.

"And what do you think that will do?" The Shadow's deep voice echoed in the mermaid lagoon. He floated high above Peter, far enough away from the candle's influence, "Many people have tried to trap me. All of them failed. All I have to do is bide my time, summon some other creature to do my dirty work for me. In what world did you think you really won?"

The Shadow's arrogance had no effect on Pan. The boy held a haughty expression as he summoned all of his remaining power into his hand, "This one," He said, eyes locked with the Shadow's as the cedar twig ignited and a small flame flickering in the shell, _tearing out the shadow snake inside of Peter's body and trapping it inside._

"No!" The Shadow shouted, watching in horror as all of his shadow minions immediately dispersed from him, flying around the island in a frenzy as _Pan's magic returned_. It was a miscalculation, _hubris_ , and now the Shadow was finally paying for it. He turned to flee but found himself held still by a rogue shadow, "Let go of me," He snarled, suddenly screaming as the shadow _tore the Shadow's hand off_.

The Shadow had never felt such pain and found himself paralyzed and howling in fear. No reprieve given, all of the shadows he once lorded over charged at him and ripped him to shreds, first an arm, then a leg, before his entire body lay on the rocks of the mermaid lagoon in chunky red pieces. All that was left of him was a featureless shadow with glowing eyes, his whole form rattling with pain.

"How did that feel?" Pan asked, suddenly materializing in front of the Shadow and stabbing a hand into his chest to hold him in place. With Neverland's magic back in his hands, Peter effortlessly materialized another hooded candle, cedar and squid ink mixed into its wax, "You've had your fun. Now it's my turn," The candle lit itself. Its warm light drawing the Shadow in despite his protests, "Felix is _mine_."

His last words echoed in the Shadow's mind forever. Peter sealed him away and set the Shadow's containment ablaze. He heard the creature screeching, saw it writhing in the smoke before it faded away into silence and clarity.

The shadows refused to leave, simply circling the island aimlessly. He figured they needed a new master to lead them, a new shadow, so Pan conjured up a dagger and cut off his own. The creature was voiceless, lacked any free will, and was the perfect candidate for the island's new spirit. He sent his shadow off, flying directly into the heart of darkness in the sky. The shadows circling the island immediately dispersed, most returning to Dark Hollow while other faded off into the sky.

Pan smirked as he felt power filling him. No longer did he have to share Neverland's power with _him_. From afar, he could see Skull rock blazing with light, his lifetime extended due to the Shadow's death. Peter Pan had won.

There was only one thing left to do.

With the shard of mirror he received, Peter wandered into Dark Hollow. The shadows harmlessly flew around him, intrigued by their new master and no longer malicious. His search brought him to a swamp area, black waters bubbling with red plumes of smoke rising from them. The shadows lingering in the swamp appeared lifeless, writhing in the dirt and fearful as Pan walked past. He could hear it, _soft moaning_ coming from each shadow laying in the marsh, some of them splayed out in provocative positions.

It made Pan want to retch but he kept pressing forward, staring into his mirror shard at one tall shadow hugging his knees against a willow made of inky darkness. He closed in on the willow tree, walking slowly around to find Felix's shadow trembling in fear against the trunk.

"Felix?" Peter murmured, smiling softly when the shadow lifted its head, "You're safe now."

He took the shadow into his arms, holding it gently like a cub as he flew out from Dark Hollow. The shadow curled up in his grasp, shining eyes shutting as it pressed its face into Peter's neck. Returning to the cave where Felix lay, Peter carefully lowered the shadow across his body, sparks of magic flickering with the contact as his life force joined back with his body.

A pause then a gasp, Felix sprung up from the cave floor sputtering.

Pan was on his knees, watching Felix with a half-smile as the boy regained his composure, "Welcome back."

Felix couldn't understand. The last thing he saw was his body laying on the ground limp and lifeless as he was dragged away, his entire body electrified with pain, the Shadow clutching him possessively. Yet, Felix was _alive_ again, warm and heavy in his human body with Pan standing over him, not his cruel master.

If he concentrated hard enough, he could no longer feel the weight of the Shadow's magic in Neverland. The air was lighter; the sky was brighter. It was a sensation Felix hadn't felt in his entire life.

"Is it…" Felix whimpered, feeling his breath stutter in his throat as he held his blanket tightly around him, "Is it over?"

"Yes," Peter replied, declaring his freedom. His twenty year nightmare had ended.

Felix's breath choked in his throat. No longer the Shadow's pet, no longer his plaything or his trophy, Felix clutched at his face and burst into tears. No longer did he have to be _beautiful_ for his master. He let Peter pull him close, let their foreheads press together while Peter smiled faintly. A smile curled on Felix's face. Relief, freedom, it was too much for him to bear so Felix _laughed_ to relieve the ache in his chest. He knew he looked ridiculous, laughing and weeping hysterically.

Peter wrapped his arms around him, holding him as close as he could, breathing him in, "You're mine," His heart was beating rapidly, finally holding the boy he had dreamt about for years with nothing in their way.

It would be a _good life_ , belonging to Peter and not the Shadow. Felix smiled brightly, " _Yours_ ," He said willingly for the first time in his life.


End file.
